Italian Bolognese Sauce [Salsa alla bolognese]
Servings: servings
Italian Bolognese Sauce is a traditional slow-cooked sauce, rich in tomato flavor, that necessitates patience and quality ingredients.
Equipment
Ingredients
The Vegetables
- 1 red onion chopped
- 3 celery chopped
- 3 carrots chopped
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup Italian red wine for the vegetables
The Meats
- 500 g pork mince
- 300 g beef mince
- 200 g veal mince
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup Italian red wine for the meats
The Sauce
- 800 g peeled tomatoes 1 whole can
- 800 g strained tomatoes 1 whole bottle
- 150 g tomato paste 1 whole can
- 1 L boiling water
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 250 ml whole milk
The Pasta
- Pappardelle or Tagliatelle or Fettuccine
- 1 cup pasta water
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese freshly grated
Notes
Instructions
The Preparation
- Gather the ingredients. Start by chopping 1 red onion.
- Proceed to wash and chop into small cubes : 3 celery and 3 carrots.
The Cooking
- In a large cooking pot on medium heat, add 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil and once warm, add the chopped 1 red onion. Cook for 5 minutes or until golden.
- Add the chopped 3 celery and 3 carrots, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
- Pour ½ cup Italian red wine, allowing it to simmer until the liquid evaporates.
- Once the wine has evaporated, add the minced meats (500 g pork mince, 300 g beef mince and 200 g veal mince).
- Slowly break them down using a wooden spoon. Season with 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
- Cook until the meat has no pink hue left.
- Once the moisture from the meats evaporates, add the remaining ½ cup Italian red wine. Allowing it to simmer until the liquid evaporates. Continue to slowly break down the meat.
- Incorporate the 800 g peeled tomatoes, 800 g strained tomatoes and 150 g tomato paste crushing the tomatoes as you mix with your wooden spoon.
- Add 1 L boiling water. Season with 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.
- Maintain low heat to prevent excessive bubbling. The bubble should be slowly coming out. Let it simmer for 5 hours starting from when you started the cooking pot.
The Pasta
- When ready to serve and the 5h has elapsed, prepare pasta according to package instructions. You should use flat pasta like Pappardelle, Tagliatelle or Fettuccine. Cook only the amount you will use.
- While the pasta is cooking, stir in the sauce 250 ml whole milk and mix well. At this point, you should taste your sauce and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
- One the pasta is done, reserve 1 cup pasta water. Drain and place back in the pot you boiled it in.
- Combine cooked pasta with part of the Italian Bolognese Sauce the pasta cooking pot, adding the 1 cup pasta water as needed for consistency.
The Serving
- Serve the Italian Bolognese Sauce with some freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Store the rest of the unused sauce for the future.