When I was in Chicago for my friend Leah’s birthday, we went to this restaurant called Three Aces. I had a brussels sprouts pizzeta, which was really yummy. But what really stole the show was our appetizer- the Bolognese fries. I wasn’t really expecting much- I mean, its just fries in a meat sauce, but holy cow, these things were delicious! I have been dreaming about recreating that dish ever since.
I finally had a chance, with my own spin on it.
Bolognese fries are a pretty simple concept: Makes some fries, heat some sauce, combine and voila! It could EASILY be made with frozen fries (I don’t judge!) and a jar of tomato sauce. Easy peasy.
I decided to take it up a notch and make my own fries and perk up the sauce with some sausage, onions and fresh basil.
I guess the whole topping fries with a gravy (sauce) is a spin on poutine, but I don’t really like the word “poutine.” Is it Poo- teen? Or Pout- ine? I dunno; let’s just call this Rutabaga Fries in Meat Sauce.
Ingredients:
1 rutabaga, ~2 lbs
1-2 Tbs olive oil
Black truffle salt to taste (or regular salt)
1 jar of pasta sauce (your choice)
1 lb sweet Italian sausage
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 leaves of fresh basil
fresh shredded parmesan
How To:
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Peel and chop the rutabaga.
In a bowl, toss the rutabaga with the olive oil and salt.
I got this salt at Downtown Disney back in October, and I’ve been dying to use it. Unfortunately, I was too stingy when I added it to my fries, because I couldn’t taste it at all! Of course, the flavored salt is optional. Regular salt will work just fine here.
Spread the fries out evenly on a baking sheet in one layer. When the oven is ready, bake them about 25 minutes, flipping once. Depending on your cookie sheet, you may need to bake these in two batches.
Meanwhile, make your meat sauce.
Brown the sausage in a frying pan.
When it’s done, remove it from the pan (I put it on a plate with a paper towel to soak up some of the oil).
Saute the onion, so that it becomes soft and translucent. Add the meat back into the pan with the onions. Pour in the sauce and season with the fresh basil.
Your fries should be just about done at this point. When they’re baked through, pull them out of the oven.
Top the fries with sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan, and you’re all set!
Enjoy!
