# Needed: Bolognese Sauce



## zane (Apr 6, 2010)

New to making sauces, anyone have a good recipe?


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## skyler (Jan 27, 2014)

Zane, I really liked the last one I tried. I hope I'm interpreting the rules here correctly...sounds like it's okay if I post this link for you from Food Network's site...recipe courtesy of Ina Garten.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/weeknight-bolognese-recipe.html 
[h5] [/h5]


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## clove48 (Jun 23, 2012)

Here are 2 different recipes that I've picked up in Bolognia.

The one with chicken livers is from 2 sisters (home cooks) and they say it is unchanged for 5 or 6 generations.

The other is more of a restaurant version that I've scaled down for home use.

*Ragu alla Bolognese*

*Ingredients:*

· 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

· 1 small yellow onion - minced

· 1 rib of celery - minced

· 1/2 carrot - peeled & minced

· 2 or 3 slices of prosciutto - finely chopped

· 1 1/2 lbs. ground chuck

· 2 chicken livers - finely chopped

· Salt & Pepper to taste

· 1/2 cup of dry white wine

· 1 cup of hot milk

· 1 cup of chicken or beef stock

· 28 oz of pureed San Marzano tomatoes

*Method:*
Heat oil in a large heavy stockpot over medium high heat
Add onions - Sauté until soft but not browned - 4 - 5 minutes
Add celery and carrot - cook for 3 minutes more
Add prosciutto and chicken livers - stir with wooden spoon until meat is just cooked and still a little pink
Crumble ground chuck into pot - season with salt & pepper to taste
Stir in chuck to break it up and cook about 5 minutes until meat is cooked but slightly pink
Stir in wine and completely evaporate - about 3 minutes
Reduce heat to medium and add hot milk - stir occasionally until milk is evaporated
Heat broth and tomatoes in a saucepot until hot - Add them to the meat mixture
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook gently for 2 1/2 hours - stir occasionally
Re-season with salt & pepper to taste

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*Ragu Bolognese*: 

Ingredients

· 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

· 3 tablespoons butter

· 2 chopped onions

· 4 stalks chopped celery

· 1 carrot chopped

· 4 cloves garlic, sliced

· 1 pound ground veal shoulder

· 1 pound ground pork shoulder

· 1 pound ground beef chuck

· 1/2 pound pancetta, ground

· 1 1/2 tube of tomato concentrate (paste)

· 1/2 cup warmed milk

· 1 cup dry white wine

· 2 cups chicken stock

· Salt and pepper

Method:

In a 6 to 8-quart saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat.

Add onion, celery, carrot and garlic and sweat over medium heat until vegetables are translucent. Add veal, pork, beef and pancetta and stir into vegetables.

Raise heat to high and brown over high heat, stirring to keep meat from sticking together.

About 15 to 20 minutes.

Add tomato concentrate and simmer 12 minutes.

Add the milk and simmer until reduced, about 8 minutes.

Add wine and stock, bring to a boil, lower the heat to a low simmer and cook for for 2 to 2 1/2 hours*

Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.

Yield: 7 cups

*_Note - This is NOT a sauce, it is a Ragu. When it is done it will be very thick and moist (not a tomato sauce with ground meat floating in it._


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

The last one is similar to Mario Batalli Ragu Bolognese, shown here:






Lots of tips in that video.


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## careme (Sep 21, 2012)

like the last actual recipe, never heard of milk in a ragu mind you. Do like it with chicken livers though, and I always add a dash of worcestershire sauce to mine. I have seen a few good Italians cooks add anchovies to theirs but never tried it.


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## clove48 (Jun 23, 2012)

You can add anything that you want to any recipe.
Mine are taken from home cooks in Emilia Romagna (where Ragu Bolognese originated)
Milk is always used in this ragu.
Chicken livers are added by some cooks when they have them and need more protein for the ragu.
It does change the flavor profile of the ragu but it still tastes very good.
I've never seen anchovies added to this classic sauce, but this recipe has about 10,000 variations and I'm sure one of them has anchovies in it.
As you know anchovies are a key ingredient in Worcestershire sauce.
I've never seen that in a kitchen in Italy.


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## careme (Sep 21, 2012)

This is how I generally make it:

500g ground  steak 
1 onion finely chopped
5 anchovies
2 bay leaves
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
500g passata (pressed tomatoes)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
4 cloves garlic
5 sundried tomatoes in oil
¼ bottle red wine
1 ladle beef stock
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 large handful fresh oregano
1 large handful fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan to garnish

served with linguine and some good bread.

As you say there are lots of recipes though the officially recorded version,  as you rightly say has milk included.


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

Clove48 said:


> *Ragu Bolognese*:
> 
> Ingredients
> 
> ...


I make mine similar to this except I use red wine, no veal, I add bay leaf, cheese rind, and finish with some balsamic vin. Not as _quite_ as thick though.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Removing posts which have nothing to do with topic.


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## clove48 (Jun 23, 2012)

As I've said, you can add anything you like to any recipe.

I posted two classic ragu recipes from Emilia Romagna.

Because this ragu is so widely used in that region, every restaurant and home cook has a version and they are all somewhat different.

One ingredient that is usually found in this recipe (and missing from yours) is milk.

I see you add a cheese rind to give some of the lactic characteristics

The purists would say your picture shows a big mistake: adding sauce to a plate of pasta.

Suggestion, especially for a thick ragu, finish cooking the pasta for the last 30 seconds IN the sauce


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Hey all, this topic for whatever reason is spiralling down a dark abyss of nastiness. If we can't right the ship then I will close this down.


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## oldschool1982 (Jun 27, 2006)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a Lamb or italian sausage version. Granted the Beef/veal/pork or all beef versions seem to be the norm, but imho, a good lamb/sausage Bolognese is like a slice of heaven.

FYI most of the time I don't weigh or measure the ingredients so this is a guesstimate for when I make a small batch for dinner here. We usually get 2 meals out of the sauce and that's for three.

panchetta*           2oz wt

ground lamb or   2lb. wt

Italian sausage**

carrots               3oz wt

celery                3oz wt

onion                 3oz wt

garlic                 2oz wt

Chianti               4oz. vol

6 in 1 tomatoes

28oz can            2 each

water                  2 cups

salt and pepper to taste

heavy cream       4oz vol

butter, whole,

softened             2oz wt  

Dice the panchetta and render in stock pot over medium flame. Stir frequently to prevent from uneven cooking. This will also aid in proper rendering. Cook until evenly brown and slightly crisp and remove from pan but save drippings. Add ground lamb (or italian sausage) to hot drippings and cook until brown. While the meat is browning, place carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a food processor and chop fine to very fine. It should be less coarse than the meat. Add the chopped vegetables to pan and cook for 5 minuets over med-high flame. Stir frequently to prevent scorching.

Add wine to de-glaze pan and follow immediately with tomatoes. Use water to rinse cans and add as well. Bring to a boil and reduce to low simmer. Simmer mixture for 2-3 house checking and stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Pull butter from fridge after adding tomatoes to allow it to come to room temperature.

Add cream and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Adjust water if necessary, I rarely need to, and season to taste.

Cook your favorite pasta to just a bit heavier al dente state and add amount desired to a saute pan over medium flame. Ladle sauce into pan over pasta and toss cooking for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, add room temperature butter and toss well.

Plate, serve and enjoy. Sometimes, instead of individual potions, I'll serve as a bowl for family style at various holidays. After all, what's an Italian household without pasta during the Holidays?

*You can omit the panchetta for whatever reason but use 2 oz vol good olive oil to cook meat and veg in.

**if you can find it, Molinari in SFO makes a very good Calabrese style Italian sausage otherwise your favorite or home made works very well.   

When we make Ragu, it's typically any combination or all of the following; Beef blade chuck cubes or stew meat, Country style pork ribs, Italian sausage with and/or without casing, ground beef, ground lamb, lamb shoulder chops, lamb stew meat  and a good bit of coarsely chopped parcleys and or basil is also added at the very end. This is simmered for as long as 8 hours too.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

For the full experience play "it's a small world" very softly while you read this post.

IMHO.....

Assuming most of us learned to cook at least a few dishes before we left our mom's little nest....

My mom made amazing "spaghetti sauce" without a recipe (yes with milk or cream to cut the acid) and she would serve our plates with a huge scoop on top of the naked pasta.

The tall canister of "shaker cheese" would be on the table to take or leave.

It was not until my fave niece brought the Italian guy home (later married him now he is the stockbroker/wealth management guy) that I learned to use more than one meat and call this dish Sunday gravy.

This was also when the word Bolognese entered my vocabulary.

I had been adding a scoop of sauce/gravy to my pot of pasta water (to keep it from becoming a sticky mass) since forever (oil in pasta water is sacrilege IMO)

The whole save some pasta water and finish the pasta off with a big scoop of sauce is something I have picked up here.

If mom was still among us (and we were at her home for dinner) we would still eat one meat "spaghetti sauce" (with milk /cream added to cut the acid ;-) and would receive a dish with a pile of sauce like a mountain on top.

Everyone has their own recipes personal to themselves and THAT'S OK.

The styles of serving their dishes is also personal to their experiences and that is ok as well.

Life would be pretty boring without the differences, right?

mimi

edit for spell check


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## clove48 (Jun 23, 2012)

These last few posts seem to validate my earlier comment, "every cook has their own version of a recipe that they feel is authentic"
The Bolognese are so fanatical about the food and traditions, that the "official" recipe for Ragu Bolognese has been displayed at Bologna Chamber of Commerce since 1982.
That doesn't mean you can't add lamb or rabbit or gooey duck to your recipe, just don't go to the Chamber and claim that it is _Ragu Bolognese_
Remember that we a discussing a recipe from Emilia-Romagna, a region that has an official consorzio to "appove" their DOP Prosciutto (di Parma). They have another consorzio in Spilamberto to "assign" Tradizionale status to their Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and another one in Reggio Emilia for thier vinager. 
They take their food traditions very seriously.

The term Sunday gravy is an American term used mostly by people with southern Italian roots.

Remember that this topic is for Ragu Bolognese, a meat sauce from Bologna in Emilia-Romagna.
That's from where the 2 recipes I posted came.

BTW - The recipe I posted with chicken liver would never be approved by the Chamber


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