Here’s a great recipe for authentic Bolognese Ragu courtesy of Vincenzo’s Plate.
INGREDIENTS:
1 x brown onion
1 x celery stalk
1 x carrot
150g/5.03oz pancetta
500g/17.06oz beef mince
200g/7.05oz pork mince
500ml/16.8oz tomato/basil sugo/tomato passata
Extra virgin olive oil
1 x glass white wine
1 – 2 x glasses water
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano (optional)
UTENSILS:
Sharp knife
Chopping board
Hand blender
2 x Medium – large size pot
Wooden spoon
Tongs
Large serving spoon
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METHOD:
Bolognese sauce starts with a delicious foundation – soffrito with a twist! Start by roughly chopping the carrot, onion and celery, and cutting the pancetta into strips.
Mix all chopped up ingredients together and combine well using a hand blender.
Place medium-large size pot on the stove at a low-medium heat.
Once the pot has started to warm, add 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
When the oil has warmed up, add the soffrito and combine with the oil using a wooden spoon.
Leave the soffrito to simmer for around 10 minutes.
Add the beef and pork mince to your Bolognese sauce mix, breaking down the chunks of meat using a wooden spoon as you cook it.
Next you can sprinkle a generous amount of salt along with dried oregano (or an alternate herb of your choice), along with a glass of white wine.
Leave the Bolognese sauce to simmer for approx. minutes, stirring every so often. This should start to bubble as the wine evaporates.
Now it’s time to add the bottle of passata/tomato sauce and a sprinkle of pepper before continuing to mix once again.
The final ingredient is 1 x glass of water. Add this to your Bolognese sauce, mix through and cover, leaving it to cook for 30 minutes.
Stir the sauce every 10 minutes so the meat cooks evenly and nothing sticks to the pan.
Once 30 minutes have passed, uncover and mix well using a wooden spoon.
VINCENZO’S PLATE TIP: If there is not a lot of moisture in the pan, add one more glass of water to your mixture and bring the cooking temperature down slightly as you want the Bolognese sauce to remain nice and moist.
At this point if there are any thick chunks of meat, break them down again using your wooden spoon before leaving the sauce to simmer once more for 30 minutes, stirring every ten and leaving the lid off.
In the meantime, boil 5L water in a second pot and add a tablespoon of rock salt, leaving it to dissolve.
Once the sauce has finished cooking and your water has boiled, add your choice of pasta to the water and cook according to the packet instructions.
While the pasta is boiling, prepare a large fry pan for mixing!
Place a frypan on the stove at a low heat, and add a generous spoonful (or two!) of Bolognese sauce, covering the base.
Next, add the strained pasta into the pan along with 2 x spoonful’s of pasta water.
Mix this through until the pasta is completely lathered before adding another generous amount of Bolognese sauce and mixing again.
