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Easy Homemade Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese sauce will make you feel as if you are eating at a high-end Italian restaurant right at home (and for a fraction of the price!).  It is a great choice for Sunday dinner either with just the family or dinner with friends.  My favorite is to put it with fresh homemade pappardelle, but it pairs well with most pastas.   The best part?  This sauce freezes extremely well making it even simpler to enjoy it on a weekend when all you need to do is defrost and boil some pasta. What is Bolognese?

Bolognese or Ragu alla Bolognese sauce is a type of meat sauce that originates from Bologna, Italy. Its main ingredients are ground beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, milk and white wine. Interestingly, even though Spaghetti Bolognese is the most common dish in the US, in Italy Bolognese is never served on spaghetti, but only on fresh tagliatelle (which is a wider version of fettucine).

Link to official recipe from the City of Bologna: https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/other/recipes-and-typical-products/ragu-alla-bolognese-2


Ingredients

Makes approximately 6-8 servings


2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

½ tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried basil

4 oz diced pancetta

¾ lb of ground beef

⅔ cup of diced carrot

⅔ cup of diced celery

⅔ cup of diced onion

1 cup of whole milk

1 cup of red wine (white wine is traditional, but I find both work well)

Parmesan rind

2 ½ cups of pureed whole San Marzano tomatoes (any canned whole tomatoes will work)


Instructions


Step 1: Warm pan on medium heat. Once the plan is preheated, add oil and then chopped onions. Cook the onion periodically stirring until they are translucent. Then add chopped celery, carrots, and all the dried herbs. Stir to combine and cook for about 5 minutes until fragrant and veggies are softened.


Step 2: Add pancetta and cook until browned.


Step 3: Add ground beef and cook until browned through. Break up and stir to make sure veggies and pancetta are mixed through. Step 4: Add milk and let it simmer gently until it has almost completely bubbled away. Stir periodically to mix through. Step 5: Add wine and let simmer until it has evaporated. Stir periodically to mix through. Step 6: While wine is simmering, pour tomatoes into a bowl and puree by either crushing with your hands or using an immersion blender. Either option works well but crushing with your hands can be a bit more fun, especially if you have kids helping in the kitchen. Using an immersion blender will give you a smoother puree however.


Step 7: When wine has cooked down, add tomato puree to the pan. Mix to get all the ingredients thoroughly combined. Add in parmesan rinds. When the sauce begins to bubble turn down to a low simmer and cook for at least 1.5 more hours to allow flavors to meld but closer to 3 is ideal. If the sauce seems like it is getting too thick, just periodically add a quarter cup of water to thin it out. It will thicken up again as it continues to cook. Around halfway through the cook time taste sauce and make any adjustments based on your personal taste (ie more salt, pepper, etc).


Step 8: Toss sauce with cooked drained pasta of your choice. Serve with grated parmesan and chopped fresh parsley. Adding a touch of chili flake can also add a nice kick.
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