Ragu alla bolognese is one of the most famous sauces in Italian cuisine. Contrary to popular belief outside of Italy, this isn't simply a quick tomato and meat sauce. A true ragu bolognese is made slowly, its flavor developing over several hours of cooking.

The secret lies in the quality of the ingredients, proper meat preparation, and patience. This is precisely why true Bolognese sauce is so aromatic, deep, and full of flavor. In our version, we also use Grandma's Field Tomato Juice, which perfectly replaces passata and provides the tomato base for the entire dish.

Ingredients for ragu alla bolognese

700 g beef with a bit of pork
200 g of raw smoked bacon, pancetta or guanciale
700 ml Grandma's Field Tomato Puree Juice
400 ml beef or vegetable broth
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup of milk (optional)
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
5 stalks of celery
2 carrots
4 tablespoons of oil for frying
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 flat teaspoon of pepper

Sauté the onion and garlic

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add the finely chopped onions and sauté over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until soft and lightly golden.

Then add the pressed garlic and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Prepare the carrots and celery

Peel the carrots and dice them very finely. Prepare the celery in the same way.

Add the vegetables to the onion and garlic. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a large pot for the ragu alla bolognese.

It is carrots, onions and celery that create the classic Italian soffritto base, without which it is difficult to imagine a real Bolognese sauce.

Render the bacon and build a flavor base

In the same pan, add the diced bacon. If available, use pancetta or guanciale, but I had to use bacon. If the meat is fatty enough, you don't need to add any additional fat.

Cook for about 4 minutes, until just starting to brown. If you're using bacon like I did, add a pinch of oregano, thyme, and white pepper and cook for another 3 minutes to impart a flavor similar to its Italian counterparts.

Transfer the bacon to the pot with the vegetables.

Fry the meat

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and add the minced meat.

Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly and breaking up any larger pieces with a wooden spoon. The meat should be well browned. This is a crucial step, as it is here that the aromas responsible for the deep flavor of ragu bolognese develop.

Add previously fried vegetables to the prepared meat or transfer the meat to the pot with vegetables and bacon.

Add red wine

Pour dry red wine into the pot and mix thoroughly.

Cook for a few minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Wine isn't a complement for its own sake. During cooking, the alcohol evaporates, leaving behind the flavors that give ragu alla bolognese its characteristic depth.

Pour in the broth and add the spices.

When the wine has partially evaporated, pour in 400 ml of hot broth.

Add salt, pepper, and oregano. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Add tomatoes

Next, add Grandma's Field Tomato Juice.

Many recipes call for passata or canned tomatoes. I chose pureed tomato juice because it's made from excellent, naturally sweet field tomatoes. This eliminates the need to enhance the flavor with additional sugar or a large amount of tomato paste.

In a well-prepared ragu, tomatoes are the foundation of the entire sauce, so it's worth choosing ingredients that really taste of tomatoes.

Simmer the ragu alla bolognese for two hours

Mix the contents of the pot thoroughly and bring to a boil.

Then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer for about 2 hours. The sauce should only be gently bubbling.

Stir the mixture occasionally and check that nothing is sticking to the bottom.

It is this long cooking that creates a real Bolognese sauce, not just a regular tomato sauce with meat.

Optionally, add milk

About 40 minutes before the end of cooking, you can add 1/3 cup of full-fat milk.

This is a classic Italian trick that gently softens the acidity of the tomatoes and gives the sauce a more velvety texture.

How to serve ragu alla bolognese?

Ragu alla bolognese is most often served with spaghetti or tagliatelle.

Cook the pasta al dente according to the manufacturer's instructions. After draining, do not rinse it with cold water.

A much better solution, practiced by Italians themselves, is to mix the cooked, still slightly moist pasta with a few ladles of ragu while still in the pot.

This will ensure that each strand of pasta is thoroughly coated with the sauce, making the entire dish much tastier. Only then should you transfer the pasta to a plate and add an additional portion of the ragu on top.

Sprinkle everything with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano or Grana Padano cheese.

Spaghetti Bolognese prepared this way tastes exactly as it should.

Ragu alla Bolognese full of flavor

A well-prepared ragu alla bolognese doesn't require many ingredients or complicated techniques. It requires time, patience, and high-quality ingredients.

If you take care of good meat, fresh vegetables and a solid tomato base in the form of Grandma's Field Tomato Juice, you will get an aromatic, thick sauce that tastes much better than most ready-made sauces available in stores.

Ragu alla Bolognese – a recipe for a real Bolognese sauce

Contents