As I mentioned yesterday already I joined the Cooking Italy group that Angela from Spinach Tiger started. It’s great fun and each month she picks four recipes that we cook out of the book ‘The essentials of Italian Classic Cooking” from Marcella Hazan. I’ve been reading in the book and have already learned quite a bit about the Italian cuisine without even cooking much more then the bolognese sauce!
When I first read that I had to cook this sauce for something like more then 3 hours, I was thinking ‘ What???!!! Why???!!!’ but having now actually tasted the full and rich flavors of this dish, I can see why… 
I am not convinced I used the correct ground beef. The recipes calls for ground beef chuck, but I have honestly no idea what that is. The chuck part that is and we don’t have a good butcher around here either, so that could pose a bit of a problem for some of the later recipes. But I’ll manage to find a good meat source at some point, I hope.
Ingredients
The recipe itself is really not very hard to make, it just involves a lot of waiting time for fluids to evaporate, add something else, wait for it to evaporate again and repeat. It was a first for me to cook ground beef in milk, but according to Marcella this is to prevent the acidic taste of the tomatoes to get the upper hand. And it worked; I think I can honestly say that this is one of the best bolognese sauces I have tasted so far.
But then, ok, I have to admit it… I have had mostly jar bolognese sauces up till now (sorry Angela! I just read your post about the bolognese sauce so I understand now that using bolognese sauce is really a crime…:) I didn’t know any better!!)
Officially we should have made homemade pasta as well, but I haven’t gotten around to buying the equipment for that yet, so I bought fresh pasta in the store. Tagliatelle.
I also learned that bolognese in Bologna is just never served with spaghetti! I mean, honestly? Isn’t spaghetti bolognese almost famous around these parts? So, as I said; I did learn lots of things today!
The dish was really well received by Tom as well, who loved it. I can see this sauce being made over and over again, as you can vary with this to your hearts content. I will try and get proper beef for next time I make this, but all in all, it was really good and yummy.
BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE
(serves 6)
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
45 gr butter
85 gr onion, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
4 medium carrots, chopped
350 gr of ground beef chuck (not too lean)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
250 ml full-fat milk
whole nutmeg
250 ml of dry white wine
500 gr of tinned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up with their juice
550-675 gr pasta
freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese to serve
1. Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot, turn the heat to medium and saute the onion until it becomes translucent. Add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the vegetables to coat them well.
2. Add the ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the beef with a fork, stir well and cook until it has lost its raw red colour.
3. Add the milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating – about 1/8 teaspoon – of nutmeg and stir.
4. Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all the ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, continue the cooking, adding 125 ml water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
5. Toss with cooked, drained pasta and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.
I am looking forward to trying the next recipe!!
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for this recipe. There are so many bolognese recipes out there, but this one sounds fantastic. I will be making it for one of my new clients.
I use milk in my bolognese sauce as well Simone. Something I learned a long time ago from an Italian neighbour. Looks delicious!
Beautiful photos! Great post. I am looking forward to making it myself!
Your sauce looks fantastic! I love that it cooks for along time so the flavors can meld together.
Just discovered your blog! Very nice!
I recently did a few blog posts( food and culture) about our journey through the Netherlands this summer. If you are interested please check them out. I think you will enjoy the journey through your beautiful country with the eyes of a typical American family’s perspective.
Three hours does sound a bit much, but I trust when you say it tasted so good. Bolognese is such a mistreated dish, but when cooked properly it is the best remedy against the cold.
Everyone should have a good meat sauce and it looks like you have found yours…Lovely plating!!!
I’ve made this sauce once and used it in lasagna.
I just LOVE your white plate.
Welcome to Cooking Italy!
Haha – can I just use your photos when I post mine, Simone? All of yours are lovely. My Ragu is simmering, as I type. It took about 2 1/2 hours for all the sautéing and addition of liquids before I was able to throw the tomatoes in. I always underestimate that time and now looks like we’ll be eating dinner at 8:30! But still very much looking forward to a wonderful meal.
This sounds and looks fantastic!!! Lovely presentation.
Mmm…a perfect pasta and sauce! Although I don’t eat meat, you still manage to make my mouth water!!
Simone, that looks beautiful. I love your modern presentation. Just lovely. We ate our so fast I barely had any time to photo. I use a $50 pasta machine by Atlas, and it does the job.
This looks really good, makes me want to do it all over again very soon. The guys here loved it and we all understood completely about it taking so long: the depth of flavors was amazing. Yours looks wonderful!
This looks and sounds really good! Thanks for the milk tip, will try that soon.
This is a different one, but it sounds fantastic. I like this kind of simple, yet delicious, sauces.
Beautiful stilling and photography…
Absolutely beautiful Simone! It’s the time and the order of the ingredients that make this sauce taste the way it does. The slow, slow cooking bring out the flavors of the ingredients and cooking away the moisture leaves us with mere essences…I’ve never had anything like this! There are no declared Italians in my background, I’m sad to say! Beautiful presentation too!
Simple. Lovely. Italian. What else?
Oh my gooooooooooooooooooooosh!!! Not only is this mouthwateringly beautiful, but I have been thinking about bolognese sauce for a whole week!!! Love it, Simona! Welcome back from your vacation!
Mmmm I’ve been fantasizing about bolognese since the weather’s been cooler and now I have a gorgeous looking recipe to use! So excited!
Tried posting a comment earlier and it wouldn’t work!!
I wanted to say that I LOVE the plate. Love love love it
Chuck is from the shoulder of the cow. Some fat (which is good for flavour).
Bolognese is a “go-to” dish that always satisfies…glad it was well received.
{ 2 trackbacks }