David’s Kitchen

Authentic Bolognese Ragù — finished dish

David’s Kitchen

Authentic Bolognese Ragù

Bolognese ragù is not a quick tomato sauce with mince. Give the meat, vegetables and liquid time to become one thing, then use the sauce with restraint.

Prep30 minutes
Cook240 minutes
Total4 hr 30 min
Serves6
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The story

The story behind the dish

Learn how to make a classic Bolognese ragù, or Ragù alla Bolognese. This recipe is a quintessential dish of Emilia-Romagna.

The recipe

Cook it properly

Ingredients

  • 300g of beef mince
  • 150g of pork mince
  • 50g of unsalted butter
  • 50g of onion, finely chopped
  • 50g of carrots, finely chopped
  • 50g of celery, finely chopped
  • 125ml of red wine
  • 30g of tomato paste, triple concentrated
  • 125ml of whole milk
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
Metric
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Method

Place a large thick-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add the minced pork belly to the pot and cook until all the liquid from the meat has evaporated, then add the minced beef and cook until golden, stirring frequently. Transfer the meat to a bowl and set aside
Add the butter to the saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until the onions are very soft and translucent. Finally, add the tomato paste and sauté for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally
Return the meat to the saucepan, turn up the heat and pour in the red wine. Cook over a high heat for 2 minutes, then cover the pan and turn the heat down to low
Leave the ragù alla Bolognese to simmer very gently for at least 3 hours. The meat must not be excessively dry. Pour in the whole milk and cook for a further 40 minutes just before serving

Notes & tips

Ragù alla Bolognese is very tasty when just cooked, but is even better the next day. Reheat the sauce over a very low heat with a little bit of milk and use it to season pasta or simply eat it with slices of toasted bread

Recipe by David Algulin

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