Pasta Bolognese, or al ragù, is a classic Italian sauce that is well known to everyone in the world. But how is this sauce made in the original way? Its origins are in the Emilia-Romagna region, and more specifically in the city of Bologna. This Pasta al ragù is loved worldwide and is often served with tagliatelle, a wide ribbon pasta, although it is also often eaten with spaghetti outside Italy. The terms “Bolognese” and “al ragù” refer to the same sauce, but emphasize different aspects of it: “Bolognese” refers to the city of origin, while “al ragù” is a general term for a meaty sauce in Italian cuisine.
Preparation
First, pancetta, an Italian type of bacon, is fried. The preparation of pasta Bolognese continues with the making of a sofritto, a mix of finely chopped onion, carrot and celery. This aromatic base is slowly fried with the garlic in the shortening of the pancetta to develop the flavors.
Ground beef is then added to the pan and fried until nicely browned. This together creates a super meaty taste in this sauce.
The sauce gets its depth of flavor by adding passata (sieved tomatoes), tomato puree and a good dash of red wine. These ingredients are slowly simmered together with beef stock, giving the flavors time to blend and intensify. A unique feature of Bolognese sauce is the addition of milk, which helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and gives a creamier texture to the sauce.
The dish requires patience, as the sauce must simmer over low heat for at least 3 hours to achieve the rich flavor that makes it so distinctive. Pasta Bolognese is not only a symbol of Italian culinary tradition, but also an example of how simple ingredients can be transformed into a refined and satisfying dish.
Pasta Bolognese (al ragù)
Equipment
- Chef's knife
- Cutting board
- Peelerto peel the carrot
- Large panfor making your Bolognese sauce
- Large panFor cooking your pasta
Ingredients
Meat
- 500 gram ground beef
- 200 gram Italian pancetta cut into small cubes
Sofritto
- 1 winter carrot peeled and cut into fine cubes
- 2 stems celery cut into fine cubes
- 1 white onion finely chopped
Other ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic sliced thinly
- pasta of your choice
- dash of olive oil
- 200 milliliter Red wine
- 400 gram tomato passata (sieved tomato)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 500 milliliter Beef broth
- 200 milliliter Full Milk
- Pepper and salt
- Parmesan cheese or Grana Padano
Instructions
Cutting the sofritto, garlic and pancetta
- Cut the vegetables and garlic as described in the ingredients list.
- Cut the pancetta into fine cubes.
Making the bolognese sauce
- Place a large pan on the stove and fry the pancetta.
- Then lower the heat and add the celery, onion, carrot and garlic. Fry this together with the pancetta.
- Remove everything from the pan and set it aside in a container.
- Wipe the pan clean with some kitchen roll and turn the heat up to maximum.
- When the pan is hot, add a dash of olive oil and then the minced beef.
- Press the minced meat well into the pan and wait a little longer before stirring. This can create a nice brown layer on the minced meat.
- Then fry and mix the minced meat until the moisture has completely boiled away.
- Then add the pancetta with sofritto and garlic back to the minced meat.
- Deglaze the mass with the red wine.
- Add the tomato puree, passata and beef stock.
- Let this simmer for 3 hours on a low heat.
- Add extra beef stock if the sauce thickens too much.
- Then add the milk.
- Cook your pasta (we use spaghetti) of choice in salt water until al dente.
- Add this to your sauce and let it simmer for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add parmesan cheese and some olive oil. Until the sauce binds nicely around your pasta.
- Mix this together until combined enjoy your meal!
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