Aromatic vegetables, tender beef, and just the right amount of tomatoes are transformed into pure magic through hours of slow simmering in this classic Ragu Bolognese.
This is what pasta was made for.
Ragu Bolognese
This recipe for Ragu Bolognese was very different from the other spaghetti recipes I’ve seen before. When I heard dad tell me to pour in the milk, I got a little worried. The milk seemed kind of odd at first. I had never seen this in a spaghetti recipe.
But, it eventually simmered out and made the sauce much more flavorful. All I had to do was trust the process, and at the end it tasted amazing.
One thing I learned is that you really shouldn’t have to worry about how the recipe is going. Because in most cases, if you just follow the recipe, it will turn out just fine. Then, all that worrying you would have done would be a big waste of time.
This Ragu Bolognese tasted absolutely delightful, though I do wish it had more sauce. It felt like most of the time, I was eating plain spaghetti, because the sauce wasn’t on the noodles themselves. And, because the chunks of meat were finite and small, it wasn’t easy to catch them on my fork.
The flavors were very good, but I do wish it was more like regular spaghetti sauce. But, those are lessons learned and improvements for next time!
Dad’s Notes – Shred Your Own Cheese
This recipe ended up being a lot more involved than I thought it would be. But, I wanted an authentic Italian recipe to try. So, we pulled this recipe from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking book by Marcella Hazan.
The flavors are simply amazing. Time and slow heat absolutely transform a tomato sauce. Even when you’re rushed, simmer the jarred sauce on the stove for 30 minutes! It’s so worth it.
Use the white wine, if you have it on hand. But, I swapped out the white wine for beef broth in this recipe, and it still turned out great.
The only other note I have to add is that freshly shredded parmesan cheese takes a fair amount of work. But, it’s worth the effort!
Ingredients
Method
- Add the oil and butter to a large pan over medium heat. Then, add the onion and stir to coat with the oils. Cook until translucent.
- Add the chopped celery and carrot. Then, cook for another 2 minutes while stirring.
- Add in the ground beef, then cook and crumble the meat until it is fully browned.
- Pour in the milk. Stir frequently while it simmers, until it has completely bubbled away. Then, repeat this process with the beef broth.
- Add the tomatoes and stir well. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cook uncovered for 3 hours, stirring from time to time.
- While the sauce is cooking, it may begin to dry out. Add ½ cup water to keep the sauce from sticking, only as necessary. At the end, no water should be left and the fat should separate from the sauce.
- Add four quarts of water to a large pot and set over high heat. Add salt and bring to a boil. Cook pasta for 8-10 minutes, until al dente. Drain pasta.
- Toss the Bolognese with freshly cooked pasta, then taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve with freshly grated parmesan to top.
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