The REAL Ragù alla Bolognese

In 2019, we moved from NYC to Boston, traveled to Mexico, Canada and then home to Italy for Natale (Christmas)…but a highlight for me (besides learning how to ski – more on that later) was my gift from Roberto for Christmas. He is always clever with his gifts for me and this one got the reaction of a 5 year old about to meet Mickey Mouse at Disney World for the first time, a trip to Bologna to see FICO Eataly World (basically the food theme park of the world) to take a few classes and learn about the cuisine of Italy. Insert large freaking out moment here and you’ll start to understand my obsession with Italian food and culture even more.

The entire first week or so that we were in Italy, we were completely jet-lagged, or half-dead as I liked to describe it, and add in a bit of vino (wine) at every meal and you could put me out on the couch like a dinosaur being tranquilized. So when it was time to wake up “early” and drive to Bologna from Genoa, we were dead…like not even 2 cappuccini and an espresso from the Autogrill could get us up…so we put on our responsibility pants and took an hour nap at the Autogrill (rest stop along the highway that also has the BEST bars in my opinion).

After awakening and driving a bit further, we arrived at the food coma village of authentic Italian cuisine from all over Italy, FICO Eataly World. Lucky for us, getting in was rather easy getting in since in the winter months it’s a little less busy than in full blown tourist season (usually spring/summer). The first stop would be ~~lunch~~ il bagno (the bathroom) because what a car ride…but then it was time to choose our lunch spot. When in ~~Rome~~ Bologna, let’s choose something traditional since we are in the actual region where Ragù alla Bolognese and Tortellini originate from.

When the dishes arrived, we ate in silence for the first few minutes, because it is really THAT good. The tortellini pillows popped open and the parmesan cascaded into a rich, creamy delight in your mouth and the fresh tagliatelle paired with that ever-so-classic meat sauce was rich and meaty with a perfect amount of tomato-ey goodness. Good thing they have indoor/outdoor bikes at FICO (sadly, not pictured) because I really needed another nap after enjoying that meal.

However, there was enough time for a nap later, most likely in the car on the way home (thanks for driving Roby) and we had to get started in our first event of the day, the official tour to experience how the real Ragù alla Bolognese is made. Did I mention that we got to wear these amazingly awesome outfits which made me feel like an oompa loompa in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’s Blueberry Juicing Room?

The Chef came out and did a full on demonstration and went over exactly what the classic recipe consists of. Spoken entirely in Italian (yes, I took the entire tour in Italian to practice my language skills) she explained the simplicity of this sauce and how you only need the basics and a little time (~3-4 hours – which is not as much as a 12 hour sauce) in order to enjoy a huge heaping pot-full of that sugo (sauce) from your own kitchen. The tour ended with, yes -that’s right, eating more ragù!

It was truly a treat and one of the best days that I got to spend at Eataly while we were in Bologna. After the tour and leaving Eataly, I was even more excited to see if I could replicate this recipe in my own kitchen back in Boston. Just last week, during more “stay at home” cooking sessions, we rightfully made the best Ragù alla Bolognese that transported both of us back to December in Italy. I’m hoping that by making this sauce you can experience this wonderful cuisine that makes dining at home just like being in Italia.

What you will need:

Large Pot or Dutch Oven
Food Processor (I used one but not necessary)
Knife
Wooden or Plastic Spoon for stirring
Kitchen Scale

Ingredients:

1 Tube (130g) of Tomato Paste (Concentrato di Pomodoro)
1 Jar (700g) of Tomato Puree (Passata)
- I used Mutti as the brand for both the tomato paste and puree. I wanted to use tomatoes from Italy with no additives. Any brand is fine, but make sure there is nothing extra in there, you want only tomatoes. Additionally the ratio between the tomato puree and tomato paste is 3/4 puree and 1/4 paste (3/4 passato e 1/4 concentrato)
1 Medium Carrot (una media carota)
1 Medium Celery Stalk (un medio pezzo di sedano)
1 Medium Onion (una media cipolla)
- It was said to use the same amount of Carrot, Celery and Onion. Just eyeball everything to make sure you have the same amount, no need to have a perfect measurement.
500g Ground Beef (Bovino)
250g Ground Pork (Suino)
q.b. 100g of Prosciutto crudo (not cooked) or cooked ham that you would find in the deli (Prosciutto crudo o cotto)
q.b. Dry Red Wine or Dry White Wine (un po di vino rosso o bianco – secco)
q.b. Salt (sale)
q.b. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olio d’olive extra vergine)

*q.b. stands for quanto basta which means how much is needed for that particular thing that you are cooking – you will see this a lot in Italian cooking because it is not a precise measurement. It depends on how much salt or additional thing that you believe the dish needs*

Preparation:

Start by chopping up your carrot(s), celery stalk(s) and onion(s) and placing them into your food processor to grind until they are in small, fine pieces (don’t go overboard so that it becomes a soup). Be sure to eyeball your vegetables so that they are equal amounts and that the blended vegetables look to be about the same amount as the meat.

Once the sofrito (carrot, celery and onion base) is fully chopped and blended, add it to a pot or dutch oven that has a nice base of extra virgin olive oil that has been pre-heating on a low flame.
Spread out the sofrito and cook this for about a good 10-15 minutes while not letting it get dry, therefore add small amounts of water ever so often and enjoy the wonderful aroma in your cucina (kitchen).

While the sofrito is cooking, you can weigh 500 grams of ground beef, 250 grams of ground pork and 100 grams of prosciutto crudo or cotto (I used the cooked ham from our deli).

Add only the 500 grams of ground beef to the sofrito and cook on a high flame until the beef changes color. One things to note about the flame is that it has to remain high while cooking all of the meat – this is what they said in Bologna and I’m sticking to it!

After your ground beef is fully cooked and no red remains, add the 250 grams of ground pork and cook that until it changes color. Don’t you dare turn that heat down!
Once the ground pork has cooked down, you can then add the 100 grams of prosciutto crudo or cotto to your meaty mixture.

Keep stirring this all together and when a small amount of oil creates a layer on top, add a small amount of dry red or white wine.
After the wine evaporates and the meat and sofrito are dry, it is time to add the tomato paste and tomato puree.

Fill up your empty jar or can of tomato puree with just a little bit of fresh water (about a cup) and add this to the pot and reduce the flame to low. The real cooking is about to begin.
Be sure to give the sauce a taste and add a little bit of salt to taste throughout the cooking experience as the flavors will continuously change.
Put the lid on the pot once you see the sauce slowly bubble (you want a “blobby” bubbles).

Now, you wait. The sauce is ready to consume within 3-4 hours on the low flame, but be sure to check on it, stir it and add a little bit of salt and water (if it’s too dry) when necessary. Also, if you plan on cooking this sauce longer, it’s not a problem but not more than 12 hours.

At the 4.5 hour mark we boiled up some salted water and added fresh handmade pappardelle pasta that we were planning on pairing with our Ragù alla Bolognese.

When the pasta was ready, we added a few ladles of sauce to a glass serving dish and mixed up the pasta right away with the sauce before plating up the mixture.

I won’t even begin to write about the next step in this process, because it’s quite simple : enjoy and Buon Appetito because you are about to embark on a tableside journey to Bologna, where this traditional sauce began. I hope that you enjoy making your very own Ragù alla Bolognese and don’t forget to freeze your leftovers, because you never know when you’ll want to take another trip across the ocean or from your living room couch to the dining room table!