Name: Ragù alla Bolognese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 200 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500 g beef, coarsely ground; 200 g pork, coarsely ground; 100 g pancetta, finely diced; 1 count onion, finely chopped; 1 count carrot, finely chopped; 1 stalk celery, finely chopped; 150 ml dry white wine; 200 ml whole milk; 400 g San Marzano tomatoes, crushed; 500 ml beef or chicken stock; 500 g tagliatelle; salt and black pepper (to taste)

Method

Build the soffritto

In a heavy pot, cook the onion, carrot and celery in a little pancetta fat over medium-low heat until softened and translucent.

10 min

Render the pancetta

Add the diced pancetta to the softened vegetables and cook until it releases its fat.

5 min

Brown the meats

Add the ground beef and pork and brown, breaking up the meat, until no pink remains.

10 min

Reduce the wine

Pour in the white wine and simmer until it has almost completely evaporated.

5 min

Add milk before tomato

Stir in the milk and let it simmer into the meat before adding any tomato.

Adding milk before the acidic tomato is the traditional Bolognese trick — it keeps the meat tender rather than letting the acid toughen it.

5 min

Add tomato and stock

Stir in the crushed San Marzano tomatoes and stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a gentle simmer.

Simmer low and slow

Partially cover and simmer on the lowest heat for at least two and a half hours, stirring occasionally, until the ragù is thick and deeply savory.

This is not a thirty-minute sauce — the long simmer is what breaks down the meat and melds the flavors; rushing it gives you a thin, meaty tomato soup instead.

150 min

Cook the tagliatelle

Near the end of the simmer, cook the tagliatelle in salted boiling water until al dente, then drain.

5 min

Toss and serve

Toss the tagliatelle through the ragù to coat, and serve hot with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Ragù alla Bolognese

Ingredients

Method

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