Ragu alla Bolognese

This slow-cooked sauce is delicious and reminiscent of the sauce my Italian grandmother used to make. It's tasty and simple to make!

This dish for ragu alla bolognese took a lot of love to prepare. I must admit up front that my husband is Italian, and he claims that his mother prepares the best ragu alla bolognese, just as any good Italian son would. In addition, our northern Italian nanny assures us that her husband creates the most incredible sauce you've ever tasted—albeit with different ingredients than my mother-in-law. I produced nine batches, all somewhat different, using other ingredients, proportions, and processes in my quest to make the ultimate Italian meat sauce. I gathered input from my two fiercely opinionated Italian taste testers every time.

 

Components:

• One large carrot with the peel removed; one large celery stick; one medium yellow onion; one tablespoon butter; one tablespoon olive oil; one pound of beef; one-and-a-half pounds ground pork; one teaspoon salt; and one cup red wine

• One cup of milk
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• One 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup beef stock - 2 bay leaves

 

Guidelines:

 

1. Cut the onion in half, then into wedges, and the celery and carrot into 1-inch pieces. Pulse the onion, celery, and carrots in the food processor until they are all finely chopped.
2. Add the butter and olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Next, add the onion, carrots, and celery. After 3–4 minutes of sautéing, the vegetables will start to grow tender.
3. Add the ground beef and pork and break the meat up with a wooden spoon. Don't brown the beef; cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until the color starts to fade from pink.
4. Add the red wine and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until most of the liquid evaporates.
5. After adding the milk, simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. Then, add the beef stock, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, cinnamon, and bay leaves.
6. Simmer on low heat for 60 to 90 minutes. During cooking, insert a potato masher into the saucepan and move it around, applying pressure to break up any leftover meat or tomato lumps. Put the sauce on a higher heat and simmer until it reduces if it seems too runny.

 

Notes: 

- Slow Cooker: To prepare this in a slow cooker or crockpot, follow steps 1-3 using the sauté or sear setting. In step 4, reduce the heat to low and cook for three hours on high or six hours on low.