Ragù alla Bolognese v1.0
Slow-cooked ragù with beef, pork, unsmoked pancetta, soffritto and Parmesan. Without wine and normally without milk. Juicy and rich for pasta and lasagne.
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All recipes start at 4 people.
Ingredients now shown for 4 people.
Cuisine: Italian-inspired
Estimated timing: about 15 min preparation · about 240 min cooking · about 15 min resting. These estimates describe the basic method and are not measured kitchen timings. Follow the method and any time ranges above.
Method
Prepare the soffritto
Finely chop onion, carrot and celery with a knife or short pulses in a food processor. The vegetables should retain some texture rather than become a purée. Heat butter and olive oil in the casserole and cook the vegetables over medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes until completely soft without browning. Add garlic for the last 1–2 minutes.
Cook the pancetta
Add finely chopped unsmoked pancetta and render its fat for about 5 minutes.
Brown the meat
Brown beef and pork in batches in a separate hot frying pan. Develop good colour without drying out. Transfer to the casserole. Deglaze the pan with a little stock and add the juices.
Cook the tomato purée
Stir in tomato purée and cook gently with the meat for about 3 minutes.
Build the ragù
Add either passata or hand-crushed tomatoes, about three quarters of the starting stock, bay leaves, Parmesan rind and pepper. Stir together.
Simmer for 3½–4 hours
Simmer very gently over extremely low heat with the lid slightly ajar. Stir regularly, especially near the end. Check liquid and add water or meat stock gradually as needed. There is no fixed total liquid quantity: pot, heat and lid determine evaporation. The ragù should stay juicy and rich and must never boil dry.
Milk is optional
The standard version omits milk. If using it, add with about 20 minutes remaining and let it cook in gently.
Finish
Remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Season with salt and pepper and preferably rest for 10–15 minutes before serving.
Get to know the spices in this dish
About this version
Thoroughly tried basic method, with provisional standardised quantities for vegetables, stock and Parmesan. Tomato quantity is corrected: either 1,000 g passata or 800 g whole tomatoes in the original quantity for 8 portions. The meat mixture is 70/30.
Good to know before you cook
Parmesan without the rind
For the original 8 portions, stir in 20–30 g grated Parmesan near the end instead of the rind. This quantity is provisional; adjust to your chosen serving count.
For pasta and lasagne
Toss ragù with freshly cooked tagliatelle and a little pasta water. For lasagne it must be juicy enough to contribute moisture; add a little stock if very concentrated.
Planned soffritto test
Both chopping methods are approved in the basic method. Compare knife chopping and short machine pulses in two equal batches, keeping ingredients and frying/cooking conditions otherwise identical. Assess texture, sweetness and how the vegetables integrate. This test has not been performed.