Each region of Italy has its own specialty ragù (traditional meat sauce), but Ragù alla Bolognesa is certainly the most famous. Visit beautiful Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region and you will find every local has 'the best' recipe for Bolognese, and of course it's their mothers'. While the Bolognese people would scoff at what often passes as 'Bolognese' in the Western world these days, when it comes to nailing down an authentic recipe, the ingredients will often vary from family to family. Many households will replace some or all of the beef with chopped pork or veal, and perhaps use red wine instead of white for a different flavour. One thing that is always agreed upon though is that a long, slow simmer is essential for producing an authentic sauce. While it is not a laborious task to make an authentic ragù, it does take time, so set aside half a day bearing in mind most of this will only require being nearby to give an occasional stir.
It's worth making a large quantity of the sauce then freezing the rest in portions. The recipe below makes approximately 8 servings or one large lasagne, but if you prefer to make less, then just reduce the quantities.
Ingredients
- 125ml (4fl oz) olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 6 celery stalks, finely diced
- 4 carrots, peeled and finely diced
- 125g (4oz) thinly sliced pancetta, roughly chopped
- 2 chicken livers, finely chopped
- 750g (1lb 8oz) ground chuck steak, brought to room temperature
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- 1 cup (250ml/8fl oz) dry white wine
- 3 cups (750ml/24fl oz) beef, veal or chicken stock, heated
- 2 x 400g (13oz) cans Italian peeled tomatoes, chopped with their juice
- 125ml (4fl oz) cream or marscarpone
To serve
- 1kg (2.2lbs) pasta, preferably tagliatelle or parpadelle
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Make your soffrito
Soffrito, roughly translated as “softly fried”, is the fried diced aromatics that are the base of the dish, in this case the onions, celery and carrots.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy based pot, then add the diced vegetables and stir over high heat for 5 minutes until they are soft but not browned.
2. Add the meats
Add the pancetta to the soffrito, allowing it to release some of its fats, then add the chicken livers and brown. Mash the chicken livers with a fork as they cook to help them blend into the sauce.
Season the chuck steak with salt and pepper, and add. Make sure the meat is at room temperature to allow it to sear and not stew when it hits the pan. Brown the meat, stirring occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking. Add the pinch of nutmeg.
3. Add the wine
Add the white wine and let it bubble up until it has almost evaporated.
4. Add the stock
Add the heated stock a cup at a time, allowing each cup to evaporate and enrich the sauce before adding the next. This is much like the process of making a risotto and will give you a truly voluptuous sauce.
5. Add the tomatoes
Pour in the tomatoes with their juice, bring the whole pot to a boil then reduce to a low simmer and allow to gently bubble, uncovered, for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the cream
Stir in the cream or marscapone in the last 5 minutes. Give it a good stir and taste the sauce to see if it needs more seasoning.
To serve
The people of Bologna traditionally serve their ragù with homemade fresh egg pasta, usually tagliatelle or pappardelle. A ribbon or short dried pasta is also perfectly suitable, but never spaghetti which is too thin to hold the chunky sauce.
Cook your pasta in plenty of salted water. If you are using dried pasta, ensure you cook it to 'al dente' and no further.
Heat a serving dish. Drain the pasta and turn into the dish. Add the sauce and mix well.
Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Enjoy!
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