Ragù Bolognese

When I recently sifted through my old recipes I came across this easy but flavorful little gem, which I got from an older Italian lady I worked with way back in Germany. I have always liked Italian food, especially Spaghetti Bolognese, but never had I anything like this in any Italian restaurant.

This sauce has its origins in Bologna, Italy hence the reference in its name. It was even registered by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina. And Spaghetti Bolognese, as strange as this may sound, has never existed as a dish in Bologna. Ragù, on the other hand, is usually served with Tagliatelle or Lasagne and called "Tagliatelle al ragù alla bolognese". Sounds very cool.

Anyway, my co-worker's Ragù recipe differs a bit from the original but I think it is a step up in taste and flavor. Let's take a look at the ingredients...

1.5 lbs of ground beef (Chuck is preferred)
2 carrots, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, chopped
5-6 leaves of fresh basil, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 cup of whole milk
1 cup of red wine
1 12oz can of tomato paste
1 32oz carton of broth (beef or chicken)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder (or 1 whole stick)
a pinch of dried oregano
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

First off, the cinnamon and the bay leaves add some bold flavor to this delicious sauce. Start out by finely dicing the celery, onion and carrots. This mix of veggies is called soffritto in Italian. Then we get to sauté the soffritto - the mix of onions, celery and carrots - until they start to become tender and the onions translucent. Add the bay leaves and sauté for five more minutes before adding the ground chuck to it. I used meat with a 93/7 fat ratio, so it's pretty lean meat. 


Brown the meat over medium high heat then add the garlic and fresh basil to it. You don't want to add the garlic any sooner because it may burn and turn bitter in taste; that can ruin the entire sauce. Stir until everything is nicely mixed and turn down the heat to a light simmer. Once the meat and veggies are bubbling along, you can start adding one cup of whole milk, one cup of red wine and the tomato paste which I smoothed out a bit with half a cup of the broth.

Add the remaining broth, stir everything until it is a smooth sauce, add the pinch of dried oregano and the 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, turn down the heat to low and let the entire sauce simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The smell wafting through the house,...no wait...make that the neighborhood, will be absolutely intoxicating.

To serve this sauce, cook your favorite pasta - Spaghetti, Penne, Tagliatelle or whatever your heart desires, to the consistency you like. Even those wide egg noodles are good with this sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Just remember to cook them to 'al dente', meaning the pasta should have a bit of a bite to it and not turn out to be a soft, mushy lump of entangled beige strings made from flour, water and perhaps eggs. (follow package's instructions). 

Mangia Bene!