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Bolognese Sauce

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Bolognese Sauce-7Since Bolognese Sauce has been around for over 200 years there have been many variations on the recipe and much disagreement over what is the authentic version of this meat sauce. In 1982 a recipe for “authentic ragù alla bolognese” was registered with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce by the Italian Academy of Cuisine.

I have created my own version based on several different ones that I’ve tasted or read about. Most recipes for Bolognese that I’ve researched have very little tomato in them.  However, when I was in the port city of Livorno, Italy, I had the opportunity to taste a local Bolognese Sauce at the Caffe Duomo on the Piazza Grande and found that it was very much tomato-based.  It was delicious.  My recipe is somewhere in the middle. I like the combination of the beef flavor, red wine and the tomatoes.  But I’d gladly go back to Livorno anytime and eat more of the tomato-based sauce as well.

I like to serve Bolognese Sauce family style where I mix the warm pasta with the sauce in a large bowl, so that the noodles absorb some of the rich flavor before serving. I always have extra sauce on the table as well.  I think this recipe tastes even better when it’s made a day ahead of time.

Bolognese Sauce

Print recipe
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound Ground Beef
  • 1 Pound Ground Italian Sausage
  • 1/4 Pound Pancetta or Bacon (diced)
  • 1/2 Cup Carrots (diced)
  • 1/2 Cup Celery (diced)
  • 1/2 Cup Yellow Onion (diced)
  • 4 Cloves Fresh Garlic (minced)
  • 1 & 1/2 Cups Beef Stock
  • 1/2 Cup Red Wine
  • 2 Cans (28 ounces) Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 Tablespoon Thyme (dried)
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt (plus extra for ground meat)
  • 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper (plus extra for ground meat)
  • 4 Tablespoons Butter (unsalted)
  • 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese (serve with pasta)
  • 2 Pounds Pasta

Directions

Salt & pepper ground meat and brown in a sauté pan over medium heat. Drain and set aside.
In a large stock pot over medium heat cook bacon for about five minutes until it releases some of its fat.
Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic to bacon and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.
Add ground meat, red wine, beef stock and whole tomatoes with their juices to the stock pot. Mash all ingredients together until the tomatoes and ground meat are broken up into smaller pieces.
Add thyme, bay leaves, salt and black pepper, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
After 2 hours remove from heat and stir in butter. Allow the sauce to cool slightly before serving.
Serve with your favorite pasta. I like to use a thicker noodle like tagliatelle or pappardelle.

Comments

  1. This Bolognese is AMAZING. Since finding this recipe, I have made it about every month. That’s a huge deal, when my husband swears he doesn’t like Italian food (because he’s a crazy person)! In fact, he begged me to learn this recipe!

    I have found that if you have a busy day ahead of you, you can let this stuff go all day on the stovetop and the flavors really deepen. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

  2. This pasta sauce is absolutely delicious. We were fortunate enough to have Ron fix dinner for us one evening recently. Bolognese sauce with homemade pasta, garlic bread and Caesar salad. We all had second helpings and some of us more. It is fantastic. Kudos to Chef Ron! Thank you!

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