Bolognese Toasts: A Recipe with an Italian Twist

When it comes to toast recipes, cured meats or products with a preserved chunk-meat structure are typically used—like bacon (cured pork belly) or ham (a meat product made from salted and smoked pork leg or beef, turkey, or chicken). In this dish, it’s essential to know how to prepare Bolognese sauce—an Italian sauce made with ground beef, pancetta (cured pork belly), vegetables (onion, carrot, celery), tomatoes, red wine, and sometimes milk. Residents of Bologna traditionally make this meat sauce for Italian pasta. For Bolognese toasts, you’ll also need to sauté ground beef with onion, , and celery, add tomato paste (red wine or milk is optional), and simmer until cooked through.
Ingredients: lean ground beef – 500 g; onion – 1 piece; tomato paste or crushed tomatoes in their own juice – 400 g; carrot and celery – 450 g; sliced bread for toasting – 1250 g; grated Parmesan cheese – 150 g; vegetable oil – for frying; salt and pepper – to taste; basil – for garnish.
Preparation
Chop the onion, carrot, and .
Heat a bit of oil in a skillet, sauté the chopped for a minute or two, then add the ground beef and cook until browned, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spatula.
Add the chopped or tomato paste along with the chopped vegetables, bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Toast the slices of bread in a skillet or toaster until they are golden and crispy, then top the toasted bread with the Bolognese sauce. Sprinkle the Bolognese toasts with grated cheese (Parmesan or another type) and garnish with basil leaves.

Life Hack

In the Bolognese recipe, you can use a mix of ground beef and pork, as well as a vegetable mix of carrots, celery, zucchini, cauliflower, green peas, or asparagus beans. When adding tomato paste to the sauce, be sure to pour in a bit of water or broth. If you cover the sauce with a second slice of toast, trapping the filling inside, you can reheat the sandwich before serving. You can also substitute lavash for the toasted bread in the recipes. Instead of toasted bread, serve the Bolognese sauce with spaghetti or another type of pasta.
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