In Italy, they would shake their heads at us Danes if they saw how we eat spaghetti bolognese. While here at home it is a relatively quick-made meat sauce served with spaghetti, in Italy it is a slow-simmered dish (ragu/ragout) consisting of a vegetable base and meat cooked over a long time.
Recipe for ragú alla bolognese
In Italy, they would shake their heads at us Danes if they saw how we eat spaghetti bolognese. Here at home, it is a relatively quickly made meat sauce served with spaghetti, whereas in Italy it is a slow-cooked dish (ragu/ragout) consisting of a vegetable base and meat cooked over a long period of time. Italians also have a completely different understanding of the various types of pasta and what they can be used for. Therefore, spaghetti is a no-go when eating a ragout, as a wider pasta should be used to absorb/adhere to it. When spending so much time making this delightful dish, with lots of waiting time (as it takes care of itself), you can use that time to make your own pasta, tailored to precisely the thickness you desire. I used pasta from this recipe. There are many different variants of this ragout. Should garlic be added? Should tomatoes be included? Essentially, it’s about finding a variant I like best, and I love experimenting. However, I usually add a little garlic and passata (tomatoes) – but certainly not in the quantities we know from the classic pasta with meat sauce. In this recipe, I have tried to reduce the meat consumption a bit, so there is actually only 100 grams of meat per person and a bit more vegetables than I usually use.If you want new inspiration in your daily life, try a meal kit from our sponsor Hello Fresh. Get a discount of 1199 DKK on the first 5 meal kits by clicking on this link or using the discount code: “gastrofun1199”:
Servings: people
Ragú alla bolognese
In Italy, they would shake their heads at us Danes if they saw how we eat spaghetti bolognese. While here at home it is a relatively quick-made meat sauce served with spaghetti, in Italy it is a slow-simmered dish (ragu/ragout) consisting of a vegetable base and meat cooked over a long time.
Equipment
- Frying Pan
- Cutting Board
- Chef'S Knife
- Pot
- Grater
Ingredients
Meat
- 400 gram Ground Beef Preferably 10%
Soffritto
- 3 pcs. Carrots Preferably large
- 2 pcs. Celery Leaf Preferably large stalks
- 3 pcs. Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 100 gram Bacon Or pancetta
- 30 gram Tomato Puree
Sauce
- 200 gram White Wine
- 150 gram Passata Or peeled/chopped tomatoes
- 500 gram stock I used vegetable broth
- 200 gram Cream
- Spices Salt, pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and sugar
- 500 gram Pasta Preferably a slightly thicker pasta (not spaghetti)
- Parmesan
Instructions
Browning the meat
- The meat must not be too lean for this dish, so avoid 3-6% ground beef and rather find one with around 10%.
- I ground my own beef from chuck for this dish.
- The meat should preferably be taken out of the fridge half an hour before you start. This way you avoid "boiling" it, as too cold meat will lower the pan's temperature too much.
- I only use the meat's own fat to fry it in.
- The meat goes into a dry pan and is fried over medium-high heat (it’s 10 on my stove which goes up to 14).
- Chop the meat into smaller pieces all the time until you get it as fine as possible. I use a wooden spoon for this.
- The meat will slowly release juices and start to "boil" a bit. It doesn't matter; just continue frying and the liquid will evaporate/cook away.
- The meat will then start to crackle and let it do so for 5-10 minutes.
- This whole process is slow; it can easily take up to 45 minutes.
Soffritto
- Wash the onions, celery, and carrots and peel them.
- Cut them into smaller pieces according to your preference. If you want something to bite into, cut them into larger pieces; if you want an even sauce, cut them as finely as possible.
- Cut your bacon into small pieces and place them in a dry pan over medium-high heat.
- After frying for a few minutes, add your tomato paste to the pan to "burn" it a bit.
- Then add the vegetables.
- Let it cook for about 10 minutes without browning too much.
Sauce
- Add white wine to your meat and let it cook in.
- Mix your soffritto with the meat and add broth and passata.
- Now let it simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours.
- About 15 minutes before serving, add the cream and let it cook a bit.
- Season the sauce with salt, pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of sugar.
- The dish should preferably be on the unsalted side, as a little cooking water from the pasta (where there's salt) should be added.
Serving
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Cook the pasta rather 30 seconds too little than too much. It continues to cook in the sauce.
- I used homemade pasta which only needs to cook for 4 minutes.
- Add 1 dl of the cooking water to the sauce.
- Drain the rest of the pasta in a sieve and add it to the sauce.
- Mix the sauce and pasta together, and the dish is ready to serve.
- I usually grind some fresh pepper over the dish - it gives a lovely aroma.
- When the dish is served, grate Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bon appétit.