Turn Bolognese into Toast: An Italian Twist on Savory Toasts

When it comes to toast recipes, cooks often use cured or preserved, chunkier meats—like bacon (cured pork belly) or ham (salted and smoked pork leg, or versions made from beef, turkey, or chicken). For this dish, it helps to know how to make Bolognese sauce—an Italian meat sauce made with ground beef, pancetta (cured pork belly), vegetables (onion, carrot, celery), tomatoes, red wine, and sometimes milk. Bolognese is the meat sauce residents of Bologna traditionally make for pasta. For Bolognese toasts, sauté ground beef with onion, carrot, and celery, add crushed tomatoes or tomato paste (optionally with red wine or milk), 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 celery.
Heat a bit of oil in a skillet, sauté the chopped vegetables 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 crushed tomatoes 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, pour in a bit of water or broth. If you cover the sauce with a second slice of toast, trapping the filling inside, 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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