Like in many other countries, depending on what region you are in Italy - cuisine, ingredients, cooking techniques, flavours and terroir differ quite a lot. Today I want to dive into the world of the picturesque Bologna, a city located in the region of Emilia-Romagna, which conveniently is also the birthplace of lasagna, tortellini, mortadella, and most importantly, ragù Bolognese.
The first documented recipe of ragù Bolognese can be found in the cookbook written by Pellegrino Artusi L’arte di mangiare bene (The art of eating well), published in 1891. Artusi’s version - Maccheroni alla Bolognese - consisted of veal, pancetta, carrots, onions, celery, nutmeg and Parmesan cheese. All cooked in a meat-based broth without the addition of tomatoes or wine. He also suggested using cream, dried mushrooms, truffles, and chicken liver to enhance the sauce.
Quite sometime later, on the 20th of April 2023, the Italian Academy of Cuisine (an organisation tasked to protect Italian culinary traditions in Italy and abroad) updated a once-registered recipe for ragù alla Bolognese with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce. Here’s the document if you’re interested: Traditional Ragù alla Bolognese.
A dish known as Spaghetti Bolognese is quite ubiquitous outside Italy, mostly at Italian-American restaurants. Unlike the dish from Bolonia, the sauce often consists of a generous amount of tomatoes, minced beef, garlic and herbs. It’s prepared with long and thin spaghetti pasta and topped with Parmesan cheese. Despite the shared name and being a pasta dish, it does not resemble the Bolognese Bolognese that much.
This big difference is primarily a result of the migration of people, in this case, Italians coming in the late 19th and late 20th century to the US, a place far away from Italy, separated by a rather large amount of water. The tagliatelle con ragù alla bolognese accommodated different tastes based on the availability of the ingredients outside of Italy and hence, grew a life of its own.
Some of the photos from my trip to Bologna:
And now, the ragù Bolognese recipe:
Key points:
Soffritto: The word comes from the Italian verb soffriggere, which means ‘to sauté/to brown’. It’s an initial step for many Italian dishes; a mix of thinly diced carrots, onion and celery (French version of mirepoix) cooked with fat (usually olive oil or butter, or both) for a long period in a pan. All of the recipes for ragù Bolognese I had a chance to check out consist of this step.
Meat: The most common meats to use are beef and pork. Pancetta is also added to give some flavour and richness to the sauce.
(a small amount of) Tomatoes: The ragù is a meat-based sauce rather than a tomato-based one.
Fat: Milk or cream is very often used at the end to add some richness and silky texture to the sauce.
No herbs such as bay leaves or rosemary and garlic are added.
Serve: 7
Ingredients:
300g minced pork
300g minced beef
100g pancetta (salt-cured pork belly meat)
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 white onion
300ml red wine
200g passata
500ml chicken stock
300ml whole milk
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper
Method:
Finely dice white onion, carrots and celery. Add a big splash of olive oil in a heavy bottom pan and add vegetables. Season it with salt and black pepper. Simmer it over low to medium heat stirring it occasionally until the vegetables are soft and translucent.
In the meantime, chop the pancetta and, in a separate small frying pan, cook it over medium-high heat until the fat is rendered. Remove the soffritto and pancetta from the heat and transfer the mix into a glass container. The reason not to cook soffritto and pancetta together is because they have different browning times.
Next, heat a splash of olive oil in the pan over high heat and add minced meat (if you think you have too much meat for the pot I recommend caramelising it in batches). I suggest using a potato masher to break up the meat, and then using a wooden spoon to stir frequently. Season the meat well with salt and black pepper. Once the meat is browned and fully cooked, pour in the red wine, deglaze the pan and cook until the alcohol evaporates. Add the passata and chicken stock. Cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer the ragù for around 1 hour stirring regularly.
After 1 hour, stir in milk, and cook for another hour (you can cook it for longer). Add more stock if necessary and season to taste. We’re looking for the liquid to reduce and have a creamy consistency.
Serve with tagliatelle pasta (cook the pasta with heavily salted water).