My Ragù
I am so happy to share my ragù recipe with you. I say “my” because there are countless versions of this recipe. Probably each family in Italy has one and it can be the cause of a dispute. Why did you use garlic? Why did you only use onion? You can’t combine both onion and garlic? Milk…are you crazy?
The truth is there is no wrong or right but, a base on which you can add your personal touches.
The two main versions come from Naples and Bologna. The Naples recipe is older, and the main difference is that the meat used is not minced but rather whole pieces that are slow cooked for a very long time. The selection of meat can vary but typically it will be a combination of beef and pork. In some cases, it also includes pork sausages and sometimes veal.
The version from Bologna is normally a combination of minced beef and pork on a soffritto base with an addition of milk to tenderise the meat and tone down the acidity of the tomatoes. There is also of course a generous dash of wine. The colour of the wine again is part of another typical Italian culinary dispute. White or red?
I sometimes use white and sometimes red; I also use bay leaves and cloves (I am sure someone already disagrees…)
My ragù
Ingredients
1 carrot
1 onion
1 celery stick
500g ground beef
250g ground pork
600-700g of tinned tomatoes
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 small glass of milk
1 small glass of wine (I used white this time)
Tagliatelle or any other pasta (100-120g per person)
Time
20min to start it
Cook for as long as you can!
Step by Step
Chop the onion, celery and carrot. You want to chop them into small pieces. I sometimes leave a few bigger carrot bits as I love finding them in my plate!
Add a generous amount of olive oil in a deep pan and warm it up. Add the soffritto ingredients (onion, celery, carrot) in the pan and sauté until they become translucent. It should take around 10min
Add in the meat and with a wooden spoon divide the meat clusters into smaller pieces. Season lightly with salt and pepper (you’ll adjust seasoning again later), add the bay leaves and cloves and let the meat cook for a few minutes.
Add the milk in and again let it cook for a few minutes. Crank up the heat and add the wine. Let it evaporate slowly
When you can’t smell the alcohol anymore it’s time to add your tomatoes. Taste, adjust seasoning and mix well
When the ragù starts boiling is time to decrease the heat to very low and put the lid on.
Put a wooden spoon between your lid and pot in order to allow some of the steam to escape (the small valve on the lid is not enough)
Now forget about your ragù for at least 2 hours. I normally cook mine for 3 hours. Just remember to stir it a few times
Cook your pasta and enjoy!
Tips & cheats
If you don’t like the idea you can avoid adding in the cloves or even the bay leaves. My mum for example doesn’t use them.
The amount of tomatoes you’ll use can vary. The more you add the longer of course you can slow cook it.
Be generous with the oil and take good care of your soffritto. Don’t rush it and let it cook slowly.
The same as above applies to the whole process. You can definitely cook this in 40min if you have to, but it will not be the same. I normally make it one day in advance and let it cook in the evening while I relax.
Please don’t call it Bolognese. Call it ragù!
Don’t forget to stir it often while slow cooking & enjoy!
