Bison Bolognese

• servings: 10 servings
• total time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to finish

1 pound ground bison

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water

1 cup dry white wine

One 28-ounce can whole san marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand

One 3-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind

2 stems fresh basil

1 pound pappardelle pasta

1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more to serve

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Heat a medium Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the ground bison. Cook, breaking apart the meat into very small pieces with a wooden spoon until the meat is lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the carrot, red onion and garlic to the pan and stir to combine. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and cook for 3 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and fragrant. Deglaze with the white wine, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with the wooden spoon. Simmer for 5 minutes or until almost completely reduced. Stir in the hand crushed tomatoes and nestle in the Parmesan rind and basil. Season with the remaining salt. Reduce the heat the medium and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Season generously with salt. Add the pasta to the water and cook for 2 minutes less than directed, about 6 minutes. Using tongs, add the pasta directly from the pasta water to the sauce. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese directly to the bare pasta along with the butter. Toss the pasta with the sauce to coat, thinning as needed with the pasta water to ensure it clings to the pasta. Serve drizzled with more olive oil and sprinkled with more Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese if desired.

Nutrition

• Calories: 435
• Total Fat: 19g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Cholesterol: 50mg
• Sodium: 475mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 40g
• Dietary Fiber: 3g
• Total Sugars: 4g
• Protein: 22g