ragù alla bolognese

TOTAL TIME: 4 hours, 30 minutes

MAKES: 5 cups meat sauce

Our version of the classic sauce from Emilia-Romagna includes sweet Italian sausage and pancetta along with the ground meat for a wonderful depth of flavor. In Bologna, where the sauce originated, it's traditionally tossed with fresh tagliatelle. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 3 pounds of pasta; portion and freeze leftover sauce for up to 3 months. (For 1 pound of pasta to serve four, use 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of sauce.) If veal is unavailable, substitute 1 pound each beef and pork.

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Ingredients

For the sauce:
1 (14-ounce) or 1/2 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes in juice, preferably San Marzano
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon tomato paste, preferably double concentrated
1 teaspoon beef base (available in some supermarkets and specialty food stores) or 1 beef bouillon cube
1 celery rib, roughly chopped
1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/2 medium carrot, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ounces sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing
2 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, finely chopped
3/4 pound ground beef (not lean)
3/4 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry red wine
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup whole milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
For serving:
Fresh tagliatelle, or other pasta, cooked until tender in salted water
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Instructions

Purée tomatoes and their juice in blender until smooth; set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a simmer; whisk in tomato paste and beef base. Remove from heat; set aside.

Make a battuto (the foundation for many Italian soups, stews and sauces) by finely chopping together (by hand) celery, onion and carrot.

In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat until melted and foaming; add battuto, sausage and pancetta. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sausage is broken into small bits, then continue cooking, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened (do not brown), about 25 minutes.

Add beef, pork and veal; increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring until meat is broken into small bits, then season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly for 10 minutes more (do not brown).

Add wine; bring to a boil and cook until wine and juices in pot are mostly evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add reserved puréed tomato, reserved beef base mixture and bay leaf.

Cook ragù at the barest simmer, stirring occasionally (making sure to stir into edges of pot), until meat is very tender and sauce is thick (as sauce thickens, add water, bit by bit, if necessary, to keep sauce moist and just barely liquid), about
2 1/2 hours.

Add milk and continue cooking for 30 minutes more. Stir in pinch nutmeg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve:
Toss the ragù with pasta using 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups of sauce per pound of pasta. Serve immediately with cheese.

October 2009

keywords:

meat sauce, pasta, ragu

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average of 19 ratings

Comments [9] | Add your comment

Without the browning and rendering, this sauce lacks the lovely depth of bolognese sauce.

Posted: January 01, 2013 22:20 by rowy
My favorite Italian restauant at the NJ shore makes the MOST deliciouso bolognese and it is my belief that the chef uses mascarpone cheese in his recipe. I will try this an substitue the mascarpone for the milk.

If anyone decides to try, pleaes let me know what you think. :)

Posted: September 06, 2012 13:10 by betrue2u
I have made this recipe several times and it is always a big hit with my friends and family. It's perfect for a hot, hearty meal on a cold night.

Posted: May 01, 2012 12:47 by losaviom
Buonissimo! I have made this almost a dozen times, mostly on special occasions for friends and family, and it is always a hit! I like to use a fresh tonarelli or bucatini pasta from the store. Buonappetito!

Posted: December 30, 2011 08:55 by jdull
When in high school I had many Italian friends. Their mom's always made sauce like this. It's what go me hooked on Italian cooking. It's fantastic!
Posted: February 22, 2011 17:46 by httpmom
This is a fantastic recipe. The sauce is rich and hearty. The perfect thing to have simmering on the stove during the first snowfall of the year!
Posted: November 09, 2010 19:19 by sharontalb
Great standard Bolognese. Another good one is the Pork & Mushroom Bolognese from Epicurious.
Posted: July 10, 2010 16:58 by rpparisi
I have to say that this is the best Bolognese I ever made. Though I did not get a hand on veal I just replaced it with more pork and beef. The turnout was wonderful.
Posted: March 23, 2010 13:42 by jaws-1974
I gotta say - this is absolutely wonderful. Even if you just use ground beef it is superb. I've done in a quickened version and it is also great. I think it may be hard to screw up. Perfect recipe. It's so good you might just want to eat a bowl of it without pasta.
Posted: January 29, 2010 09:34 by spartytruth