Week 10 - Chicken Bolognese with Bucatini

This is by far the best pasta sauce I've made in my life! Actually I should say sauces, as there is a bolognese sauce and a parmasean sauce and they blend together so well my mouth is watering as I type this!

I can not recommend this recipe enough, I have no negative complaints or reviews from those whom ate it and there aren't any variations I would try next time. One friend who ate it said it was so good that it made her angry (because the more she ate, the less there was on her plate to enjoy apparently)

Now, although I will definitely be making this meal again, it won't be as a normal weekly meal. Partly because this decadent delicacy is a hinderance to my waistline, but mostly because it takes a good chunk of time to make. When I make it again (and believe me, I WILL be making it again) I'm going to try and make the sauces the day before. The process of making the sauces wasn't incredibly complicated, but there are multiple steps and I found that I wasn't able to leave the meal to cook while I entertained my guests. I was all but chained to the oven following the steps. On the positive side, I think making the sauces the day before will only enhance the flavor, so I don't really perceive this to be a negative thing.

I could go on and on about this meal but I will finish with the final rating...

9.75 / 10

(I was told by my guests that they would give it a 10 but they didn't want me to stop trying to achieve that perfect meal :P)

Ingredients

Chicken Bolognese Sauce

1/2 tsp whole fennel seeds
2 1/2 tsp olive oil
2/3 cup diced yellow onion
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground fennel seeds
2 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 cup water
1 diced carrot
1/3 cup diced celery
1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
4 cups tomato puree
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup julienned fresh basil

Parmesan Sauce

2 1/4 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/4 cups half and half
2 1/4 tsp minced garlic
1 chicken boullion cube
6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Place the fennel seeds in the pan and toast until fragrant. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and toasted fennel seeds to the oil and saute until the onion caramelizes, 10 to 15 min. Add the ground chicken, salt, black pepper, ground fennel seeds, and oregano and cook for about 20 min over medium heat until the chicken browns. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 20 min while using a spatula to break up by any larger chunks of the ground chicken. Add the carrot, celery and rosemary to the meat and saute for 10 min. Add the tomato puree and sugar and let simmer for 30 min. Stir in the basil and remove from heat.

For the parmesan sauce, stir together the sornstarch and the 1 tbsp water in a small bowl.

Combine the heavy cream, half and half, garlic, chicken bouillon and cornstarch slurry in a medium suacepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium high heat. Decrease the heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionaly, for 10 min. Stir in the parmesan cheese. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Fill a large pot with water and a generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook to al dente. Drain it in acolander and add it to the pan with the parmesan sauce. Toss until the strands are coated.

Devide the pasta and parmesan sauce among 4 warm serving bowls. Spoon the Chicken Bolognese on the top. Garnish each bowl with grated parmesan cheese and julienned basil. Serve with crusty bread.