Introduction
You can make bolognese from scratch with surprisingly few ingredients. Start with a classic soffritto: onion, carrot, and celery. I like everything diced to about 4 mm — not because it’s mandatory, but because it looks nice and melts into the sauce in the best way.
Once the vegetables have softened, fry off a teaspoon (or two) of tomato paste, add a glass of red wine, and let it reduce. Then in goes passata (smooth tomato sauce), and a splash of stock if it feels dry. Add the meat, put the lid on, and let the pot do the work while you watch an episode of your favorite show.
Step-by-step
Ingredients (4–6 servings)
- 1 onion
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 2–3 tbsp oil
- 1–2 tsp tomato paste
- 200 ml red wine (3/4 cup)
- 700 ml passata (3 cups)
- 200 ml stock (3/4 cup), plus more as needed
- 500 g ground beef (1.1 lb) or mixed meats (see tips)
- Salt and black pepper
- Parmesan, to serve
- Pasta, to serve
Method
- Dice the soffritto: Dice onion, carrot, and celery small (around 4 mm if you can be bothered).
- Soften: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the soffritto 5–8 minutes until soft and fragrant.
- Tomato paste: Stir in tomato paste and fry 1 minute.
- Wine: Add red wine and reduce 3–5 minutes.
- Passata + stock: Add passata and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Meat: Add the meat and cook, breaking it up, until it gets a bit of color.
- Simmer: Lower the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer gently 60–90 minutes. Stir now and then, adding a splash more stock/water if it gets too thick.
- Season: Taste and adjust with salt, pepper (and oregano/thyme if you want).
- Pasta: Cook pasta in well-salted water. Toss pasta with a ladle of ragù before serving if you like.
- Serve: Finish with plenty of parmesan.
Tips
- Friday vs. Saturday: Friday = ground beef and a 60-minute simmer. Saturday = go mixed: a bit of diced bacon plus a beef/pork combo, and give it 90 minutes.
- Texture: Ragù should be thick and meaty, not soupy. Add liquid gradually and reduce uncovered at the end if needed.
- Next day: Like most slow sauces, it’s often even better the day after.
