Ragù alla Bolognese

By John, 9 July, 2024
Region
Italy
Description

"Ragu Bolognese"This is the classic Italian meat sauce, with an official recipe approved by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina and recorded with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. The recipe gets updated every few generations to account for the changing availability of ingredients, and importantly, to note which popular variations that have arisen are incompatible with the Accademia's focus on authenticity and quality (for example, using cream instead of milk, or brandy instead of dry wine).

This is from the most recent edition, recorded in 2023.

Yield
6 Servings
Preparation time
15 minutes
Cooking time
5 hours
Total time
5 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients
3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5 1⁄4 oz Pancetta
1⁄2 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Celery rib
1 lb Ground Beef (coarsely ground, not too lean)
5 oz Dry Wine (Red or white wine are permissible)
14 oz Tomato Puree (called passata in Italian markets)
1 T Double tomato paste (double-concentration, from an Italian market)
1 c Light meat or vegetable stock
1 c whole milk
Instructions
  1. Finely chop the pancetta and the vegetables. Heat the stock in a small saucepan and keep it simmering.
  2. In a heavy enameled Dutch oven, melt the minced or chopped pancetta with 3 tablespoons of oil.
  3. Add the finely chopped herbs on the cutting board and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, always stirring with a wooden spoon.
  4. When the vegetables become aromatic, raise the heat and add the minced meat in little bits, always stirring carefully. You do not want any meatballs in here, break up any chunky bits. Cook it for about ten minutes until it's well browned and seasoned.
  5. Add the wine. Stir it around and let it evaporate completely, then stir in the tomato puree and tomato paste.
  6. Stir in a cup of of the hot stock and cook slowly, with the pan covered, for 90 minutes, adding more hot broth as needed to keep it from sticking.
  7. Add the milk. Cook slowly for another 90 minutes, stirring frequently, until the milk is completely reduced. The ragù is ready when it has a dark orange color and all the flavors have come together.
  8. Season with salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
Notes

For more detail on the changes, permissible and forbidden variations, etc, see this article. It's in Italian, so you'll want your browser to translate it for you.

Although this has many uses, it is most traditionally served with fresh tagliatelli or papardelli, and in a Lasagna Bolognese.

Source

https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/gallery/ragu-bolognese-ricetta-ufficiale-cambiata/