Ragù Bolognese
We make a lot of ragù at Sauced & Found. When I started the company five years ago, our name was meant to be a tongue in cheek reference to the over-consumption of booze. Something that seems to happen to a lot of us Anglophones while on holiday on the Amalfi Coast.
As the company has evolved, the sauced part seems to be a rather prophetic reference to the amount of ragù we would later serve our clients over the years. We make so much ragù that our head chef Luca happily only eats fish on his days off.
The ragù we serve is mostly Neapolitan Ragù. Chunks of meat slow braised in tomato passata and oregano. It is a rustic recipe and we delight in the visceral experience of serving and eating it. Mostly we serve Neapolian ragù because our company is Southern to the core and I personally like to highlight the important gastronomic contributions the South of Italy has made to the national cuisine.
That being said, Bolognese style ragù is also amazing. Ground beef slowly simmered in milk, wine and tomato, Bolognese is a silky, saucy winter dish that is equally satisfying.
Bolognese ragù features less tomato and more meat than its Neapolitan sister. This is simply a function of geography and seasonality. Tomatoes are more prevalent in the South. Meat is more prevalent in the North.
The key ingredient in both Neapolitan and Bolognese style ragù is time! Both need to simmer for hours. If you are using either to make lasagna, you must make the ragù the day before. You can also freeze and thaw if you must.
The ground meat is also important in this dish. Please, please use grass-fed beef. I have tried to scrimp while in America and use generic old corn-fed beef thinking, oh it will simmer for hours it’s won’t make a difference. It does! The color is richer. The sauce is more unctuous when you use grass-fed.
Find yourself nice vibrant grass-fed beef. If you can watch the butcher grind it in front of you, all the better. Most super markets will do this if you just ask. I always do!
Finally, I will plaintively beg you to NEVER serve ragù (whether Neapolitan or Bolognese) with spaghetti. Spaghetti is ill suited to this heavily rich sauce (Read about our top crimes committed against Italian food here.. spaghetti andragù is one of them!). I suspect that Italian American restaurants started serving Bolognese style ragù with spaghetti because this noodle was cheaper and more ubiquitous.
Fair enough. But really, not a great pairing. Please serve your Bolognese with tagliatelle or pappardelle. Even better if you have fresh pasta. To learn more about pasta pairings with sauces, read our guide here.
I serve Bolognese at least monthly in the winter. And I can assure you, I have made this dish in Italy, Greece and California with equally splendid results. It is the sapere fare (know-how) and a gentle dedication to honest ingredients that make all the difference.
Ingredients
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup pancetta, finely chopped
1 lb ground grass fed beef
1 cup dry red wine (Rosso di Montalcino is nice)
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups tomato purée
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 leaves basil, chiffonade
½ cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
½ lb Tagliatelle pasta
Instructions
1. Gently melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat
2. Sauté carrots, celery and onion until translucent (about five minutes) — this is your sofrito
3. Add pancetta to sofrito and sauté for an additional three minutes
4. Add ground beef and brown evenly (about ten minutes)
5. Add red wine and deglaze until liquid reduced by half
6. Add milk and simmer until liquid reduced by half and fully incorporated
7. Add tomato pureè, tomato paste, salt, pepper and nutmeg
8. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate
9. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer
10. Simmer for three hours
11. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil
12. Add pasta and cook according to package directions (Sauced & Found’s complete guide on how to cook pasta, is here)
13. Drain pasta in colander
14. Immediately place pasta in a large bowl and toss with ragù using metal tongs
15. Plate in wide shallow bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan and basil (some purists say this is bad and you mustn’t garnish. Well tant pis, I think it tastes and smells better this way!)
16. Eat immediately
