The Ultimate Bolognese Sauce Recipes

AUTHENTIC BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the carrot, celery and onion very fine (must not too much that it becomes pulpy when cooked).
• In a medium to large heavy pot add the olive oil and chopped vegetables, cook covered on low heat (stirring occasionally) until onion is transparent.
• Increase the heat to medium and add the ground beef and pork. Stirring as the meat is cooking to break up the pieces. Once the meat has browned turned the heat up to high and add the wine.
• Cook until the alcohol has evaporated (about 20-30 seconds) and the liquid has evaporated. Decrease the heat to medium/low and add the tomato paste, puree, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Gradually decrease the heat to the lowest setting cover and let simmer for three hours (the mixture should not boil). Stir occasionally.
• After the time has passed remove the bay leaf and add the milk, heat thoroughly for a couple of minutes. Serve over cooked pasta. Enjoy!

THE BEST BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Combine the beef and pork in a large bowl. "Pull" the ground meat apart with two forks as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and incorporating the meat without compacting it. Continue to pull the meat apart until thoroughly mixed and no clumps remain.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and is golden brown on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the pancetta with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Spread half of the ground meat in an even layer in the pot and cook undisturbed until lightly golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, breaking up any clumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the pot, until the meat is lightly browned on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, leaving the fat in the pot. Repeat with the remaining ground meat.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onions, bay leaf, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until very fragrant and brick red, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, bring to a boil and cook until it reduces and thickens and no smell of alcohol remains, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the stock, milk and browned meat.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add the Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated away and the mixture resembles sloppy joes, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. There shouldn't be any rapid bubbles while cooking. Instead, the sauce should release occasional small bubbles. If you have a small burner you should use it; the larger burners even at their lowest setting might cook the sauce too quickly. If the sauce reduces too quickly, add 1/2 cup of stock or water and continue cooking; repeat if necessary. The sauce needs the full 2 to 2 1/2 hour cook time to develop the flavors.
• Discard the bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Use the back of a spoon to break up any remaining clumps of meat for an even-textured sauce. Season with salt and keep warm.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta. If using fresh pasta, cook about 3 minutes. If using dry, cook until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
• Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain the pasta and transfer to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium, bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, tossing the pasta constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce is slightly thickened, adding pasta cooking liquid if necessary, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the pasta to a platter and top with grated Parmesan.

THE ULTIMATE BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Spice It Up:
• Toast spices in a dry small skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes (this releases their flavor). Let cool, then finely grind in a spice mill (or use a mortar and pestle).
• The Flavor Base:
• Preheat oven to 250°. Heat oil in a medium ovenproof pot over medium-high. Add livers and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until livers are deeply browned.almost burned, really-5-8 minutes. Add onion, thyme, and Mama Lil's peppers; stir to coat. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring as needed, until onion is brown and soft, 5-8 minutes more. Stir in garlic and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in spice mixture and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
• Meat of the Matter:
• Add tomatoes, then wine, stirring and scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add meat and stir to combine (the mixture will be fairly stiff but will loosen as it cooks). Add milk and mix well-everything should be evenly coated.
• Low and Slow:
• Cover pot with a lid and transfer to oven; bake for 6 hours.
• Custom Blend:
• Remove pot from oven. The sauce will have firmed up; stir to loosen. Pluck out thyme and, using an immersion blender, puree sauce until smooth. Add vinegar and season with salt and pepper. To serve the sauce like Chef Easton does, see opposite page.

HOW TO MAKE BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Melt butter with olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook onion, celery, and carrot with pinch of salt until onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir ground beef into vegetables and cook, stirring constantly until meat is crumbly and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Season meat mixture with 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg.
• Pour milk into ground beef mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until most of the milk has evaporated and bottom of pan is still slightly saucy, about 5 minutes.
• Raise heat to medium high and pour white wine into ground beef mixture; cook and stir until white wine has mostly evaporated, about 5 more minutes.
• Pour tomatoes with juice into a large mixing bowl and crush them with your fingers until they resemble a slightly chunky sauce. Pour tomatoes into sauce; fill can with 2 cups water and add to sauce. Bring to a simmer.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring often, until mixture cooks down into a thick sauce, at least 3 hours but preferably 4 to 6 hours. Skim fat from top of sauce if desired. If sauce is too thick or too hot on the bottom, add a little more water. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.

MARCELLA HAZAN'S BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.
• Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.
• Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.
• Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.
• Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.

THE BEST SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil.
• Add 4 finely chopped bacon rashers and fry for 10 mins until golden and crisp.
• Reduce the heat and add the 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, 2 garlic cloves and the leaves from 2-3 sprigs rosemary, all finely chopped, then fry for 10 mins. Stir the veg often until it softens.
• Increase the heat to medium-high, add 500g beef mince and cook stirring for 3-4 mins until the meat is browned all over.
• Add 2 tins plum tomatoes, the finely chopped leaves from ¾ small pack basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 1 beef stock cube, 1 deseeded and finely chopped red chilli (if using), 125ml red wine and 6 halved cherry tomatoes. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the plum tomatoes.
• Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hr 15 mins stirring occasionally, until you have a rich, thick sauce.
• Add the 75g grated parmesan, check the seasoning and stir.
• When the bolognese is nearly finished, cook 400g spaghetti following the pack instructions.
• Drain the spaghetti and either stir into the bolognese sauce, or serve the sauce on top. Serve with more grated parmesan, the remaining basil leaves and crusty bread, if you like.

ULTIMATE BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to its lowest setting (110C/ 225F/Gas Mark ). Put the oil and butter in a large casserole with a lid and add the onion, garlic and star anise.
• Cook over a low heat for 30 minutes. Add the chopped carrots and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, then add the celery and cook for a further couple of minutes. Tip in the mince and press down on it gently, so it is integrated into the vegetables, and cook.
• Generously season the meat mixture and add the milk. Grate over some nutmeg and cook gently for at least 30 minutes, until the milk has just about disappeared.
• Add the white wine and tomatoes, stir through, then place in the oven, with the lid of the casserole slightly ajar. Cook for at least six hours. It probably won't be necessary, but if the meat starts to look dry, add a drop of water.
• After cooking, some fat will have split and risen to the surface, but don't worry about that. When the sauce has finished cooking, it should be rich and moist.
• Check for seasoning -be generous with the freshly ground black pepper. Serve with the pasta, cooked according to packet instructions, and some freshly grated parmigiano.