Bolognese Sauce. How to Make Traditional Ragù alla Bolognese

Today’s recipe is one of the pillars of Italian gastronomy. When I think of Bolognese sauce, I picture a nonna in her bright kitchen, wearing a lovely apron, stirring the ragù ingredients with a wooden spoon or rolling out fresh pasta with a large wooden rolling pin. And since scent memory is so powerful, the wonderful aroma of this stew floods my mind. So today, I invite you to travel to Italy with the authentic Bolognese sauce recipe, along with some tips on how to make traditional ragù alla bolognese. I assure you, there’s no pasta sauce more famous!

The authentic Bolognese sauce recipe was registered at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 1982 by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina to ensure the continuity and respect for Bolognese tradition in Italy and around the world. It rigorously details the preparation steps and all its ingredients.

But there’s one key ingredient that, in my humble opinion, isn’t listed, though it’s assumed. At Claudia&Julia, we always say that love is our secret ingredient, and in this recipe, it’s essential. Making it with care, love and a bit of patience is key to achieving a truly authentic Bolognese sauce.

Tips for preparing traditional Bolognese sauce

In addition to using the best ingredients and pouring your love into its preparation, there are some tricks and tips to succeed with your Bolognese sauce. You’ll see they’re not complicated, but they are very important for success when you present it at the table and, above all, once they taste it at home:

• Dedicate your time to the process. Cooking a traditional Bolognese sauce requires time and patience. Like all recipes, during the prep, you’ll be chopping, dicing, sautéing and seasoning by the stove. But once you add the crushed tomatoes and it begins to simmer, you just need to let it cook slowly for almost two hours, stirring occasionally.
• Don’t forget the milk. You might never have added milk to your homemade ragù, but it’s an essential ingredient if you want authentic Bolognese sauce. Besides adding a creamy touch, it gently reduces the tomato’s acidity.
• Choose good dry or fresh pasta – or make it yourself! Making fresh pasta at home is simple, fun, and the difference in taste and quality compared to some commercial brands is huge. Here you’ll see how to make fresh pasta, which will pair beautifully with your homemade Bolognese.
• Look for the best ingredients; they guarantee an excellent final result. Fresh vegetables, freshly minced or chopped meat from your trusted butcher, or homemade broth will make the result perfect.
• Cook the Bolognese in your best cookware. A cocotte, a low casserole, a sauté pan or a high-sided pan; this choice is part of the process and guarantees you’ll enjoy the cooking even more.
• If you want to be as true to tradition as possible, you’ll need to add cream at the end if the ragù bolognese is to accompany short dry pasta like penne, fusilli, spirals or macaroni. If it’s served with fresh or long pasta, no cream is added.
• And finally, the most important: put all your love into each step of the recipe’s preparation, as I’m sure you always do. From selecting the ingredients, to chopping them, finding the best pasta or making it yourself while the ragù simmers, gently stirring, or tasting a little of this wonderful dish to check if it’s ready.

Now put on your prettiest apron, because you have everything you need to follow the Bolognese sauce recipe. As you can see, making traditional ragù alla bolognese is something simple, requiring mainly patience and love to make it authentic and delicious.

Le Creuset Skillet

Ingredients

• 300 g beef (coarsely minced or cut into small pieces)
• 150 g pork belly cut into small pieces
• 50 g celery
• 50 g onion
• 50 g carrot
• 300 g tomato pulp (or grated or crushed tomatoes, without water)
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 50 ml white wine
• Beef or vegetable stock (if needed during cooking)
• Salt (to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
• 50 ml whole milk
• 50 ml cream (if the sauce is for short dry pasta)

Preparation

1. Finely chop the vegetables (onion, celery, and carrot) and set aside.
2. In a casserole or your high-sided Le Creuset skillet, place the pork belly and olive oil. Let it cook slowly over low heat.
3. When it has changed colour, add the vegetables and stir well, mixing them with the pork. Let everything cook gently for a few minutes.
4. Before adding the beef, increase the heat slightly, and when you see the vegetables starting to fry, add the meat. Stir gently so it distributes well and browns evenly.
5. Without lowering the heat, pour in the white wine and stir. Let it reduce a little until the alcohol evaporates completely.
6. Now add the tomato pulp, stir, and cover the pan until it begins to boil.
7. Immediately lower the heat to minimum (about level 1.5 to 2 out of 9) and let the sauce cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. If you see it needs liquid, add a bit of hot stock during cooking.
8. When you see it’s almost ready, add the milk and stir to integrate it well. Let it cook for another 3–4 minutes.
9. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir to combine, and turn off the heat.
10. If you’re using the sauce for short dry pasta, once you’ve added the salt and pepper, stir in the cream and you can turn off the heat.

Suggestions

• The indicated ingredients for the Bolognese sauce serve 4 people. But since it’s a recipe that takes time, you can always make a larger batch.
• As it’s a dish that requires gentle, long cooking, I recommend preparing it in an enamelled cast-iron skillet like the Le Creuset skillet, or the Le Creuset Balti Dish. Cast iron retains heat very well, and you can cook wonderfully and efficiently at very low heat. You can also make it in your Lodge cast-iron skillet, but it should be well-seasoned, something you achieve by using it frequently. You can also use a non-stick or ceramic pan.
• It’s not only perfect for pairing with pasta this way or as a lasagna filling. You can also use it as a filling for a potato pie, gratinated with plenty of grated cheese, or make a savoury pie or empanadas. And if you’ve never tried it, it’s delicious wrapped inside filo pastry parcels.
• You can substitute the pork belly with coarsely minced pork.
• You can grate pear or vine tomatoes to make the Bolognese, but make sure to remove as much water as possible. Or use high-quality commercial tomato pulp (passata di pomodoro).
• Although today’s recipe is faithful to the Bolognese sauce tradition, feel free to adapt it to your taste. Add garlic, leek, sprinkle some grated cheese when serving the dish, or replace the wine with stock if you prefer.