Spaghetti with Bolognese Meat Sauce
This northern Italian meat sauce, or Ragu Bolognese, is wonderful on pasta with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or as filling for lasagne.
- Prep
- 21 min
- Cook
- 49 min
- Total
- 1 hr 10 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Mix the coarsely chopped onion, carrot, celery and fennel (optional) together and finely chop them (this is called a battuto in Italian, or a finely chopped mixture of vegetables and herbs to flavour a dish).
Procedure
Cut the ham or bacon into little cubes and sauté in a heavy saucepan.
Procedure
Add the butter and allow it to melt. Then, add the battuto.
Procedure
Cook, stirring occasionally until very lightly browned. Add this mixture to a heavy pot.
Procedure
Heat the olive oil in the skillet the battuto was browned in and when the oil is hot, add the beef and stir to break up lumps, cooking until well browned.
Procedure
Add to the battuto in the pot.
Procedure
Add the wine to the skillet the beef was in and stir on high heat, scraping any brown bits stuck to the pan.
Procedure
Add the tomato paste and stock and stir until well mixed and add this mixture to the pot.
Procedure
Drain and coarsely chop the plum tomatoes and add them to the pot.
Procedure
Add the bay leaf and lemon rind. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, with bubbles barely breaking the surface.
Procedure
Simmer, stirring occasionally for an hour (or more), until thick.
Procedure
Add pepper and salt to taste.
Procedure
When the sauce is ready, bring a gallon (4 litres) of water to a full boil over high heat in a large pot
Procedure
Add the pasta, give it a brisk stir to ensure it is all covered by water and not clumped together. Cook for about 10–12 minutes, or until al dente (firm but not hard, there should still be a bit of 'bite' when chewing pasta, rather than soggy and mushy).
Procedure
Drain the pasta well and serve immediately.
Procedure
Remove the bay leaf and lemon rind, then spoon the Bolognese sauce over the pasta and have guests garnish with the grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes, tips, and variations
This is a great recipe for making in large quantities and freezing. If making bulk recipes, be sure to simmer for hours, or even a full day, occasionally stirring up from the bottom of the large pot to ensure the contents at the bottom does not burn, adding stock as needed to keep the right consistency. The goal is to have the flavours mix and make the home smell delicious!
Notes, tips, and variations
Never rinse pasta with water. To ensure there is no excess starch from the pasta, choose a high quality durum wheat pasta and boil it in lots of water.
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Chingon assumed (based on co · Public domain · · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 18 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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