# Ragu' Alla Bolognese - Authentic Bolognese Sauce



## Dianne

My first trip to Italy was in 1963, when I went on holiday to Rome and Venice with my parents. I had just started learning Italian, but, nevertheless was able to interpret successfully for my parents - the start of a lifetime's career. My 'side' career, though, has always been cookery, and both my father and mother were excellent cooks, and I grew up with a keen interest in the preparation of food. In 1965, I went to Italy for the first time on my own, to the University of Perugia summer school, staying with a family, and it was there that I started to learn Italian cookery. I remember going shopping for fresh ingredients each morning with the Signora. There, I learned how to select lush, ripe fresh plum tomatoes ready for cooking that day, and the Signora taught me how to make 'Ragu' di carne', or, meat sauce for pasta. She used to add milk at the early stage of cooking, and the result was always excellent. I have used these recipes ever since. 

I learned that tomato sauce is served with spaghetti, but meat sauces are always served with tagliatelle, pappardelle, or other ribbon pasta. I learned, too, that 'ragu di carne' is best served - this was the advice of one of Italy's great chefs of the early 1900's -Luigi Carnacina - with the tagliatelle pre-tossed, when cooked al dente, in butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

There seem to be many variations of bolognese sauce, and for years I have wondered whether my recipe - the Signora's - was authentic. There are versions using a mixture of minced beef, pork and veal; versions with porcini mushrooms; with chicken livers; I have come across versions with bell peppers, and, once, with sausage!   

The earliest reference I have found to 'Ragu' alla bolognese is a 15th century recipe, which describes lining a casserole dish with prosciutto and strips of pork fat, laying chopped onion, (no garlic - Italian patricians for centuries abhorred garlic smells on the breath, which was looked down on at Court) carrot, celery and fresh wild herbs, which would be parsley, sage, rosemary and origano, and laying over that best quality finely chopped beef. The whole would then be covered in dry red wine and beef stock, and cooked over a slow fire for at least four hours, or until the meat was dark brown with a 'burnt' appearance. A little cream should be added at the end of cooking, to ennoble the dish.

Tomatoes didn't come into the equation until late on in the 15th century, reaching italy through Spain, where potatoes, maize, peppers of all kinds, tomatoes and American beans were introduced by the triumphant Conquistadores.The whole of Southern Italy was under Spanish Bourbon rule at the time, and it is said that these new foodswere first introduced into Palermo, Sicily, and thence found their way up the Italian peninsula and becoming part of the main staples of Italian food, and tomatoes soon found their way into some - though not all - meat sauces, including Bolognese.

Through the annals of history there are references to Bolognese sauce being made with a mix of beef, pork and veal, with porcini mushrooms, and with chicken livers. I have tried these, and they are all good, but the only old recipe I have found which refers to the use of milk is the fifteenth century one. There are other Italian recipes from around Bologna and Florence  for braising pieces of beef or pork or lamb in milk and lemon, and they are well worth trying as they are very good. The resultant sauce is known as 'gentleman's sauce' because of its refined flavour. My Signora was always adamant about the use of milk in Bolognese sauce, and I must say, without it, it is a different sauce.

It was interesting to find, therefore, that the Italian Academy of Cuisine has now copyrighted a recipe for Bolognese sauce through the Bologna Chamber of Commerce, that after 38 years of searching, here we have a recipe which includes milk!!! Porcini mushrooms may be added as an option, if you want a very rich sauce. Just one note: if you are going to pass this recipe on to anyone, please acknowledge the copyright!

Best quality minced beef: 300gr
very finely chopped bacon: 150 gr
finely chopped carrot: 50gr
finely chopped celery: 50gr
finely chopped onion: 50gr
double concentrate tomato paste: 30gr
white/red wine (dry): half a glass
whole fresh milk: 1 glass
salt, pepper.

Sweat the bacon in olive oil  in a large terracotta pan. Add the vegetables and sweat gently. Add the meat and brown gently. Do not over'brown'. It should just be sizzling gently when you start adding the milk. Add the milk bit by bit until absorbed. add the wine and tomato paste diluted with fresh beef stock. Cook very gently for 3 - 4 hours, until the sauce is a rich dark colour.

The Signora's recipe uses a little nutmeg in this sauce, and the quantity of milk is slightly less. She recommended a swirl of cream at the end of the cooking, mixed into the sauce.

ciao a tutti

dianne


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## velochic

I am bumping this very, very old thread because I just got back from northern Italy (Tuscany).  While there, we all (my 8yo, dh and I) all had an absolute EPIPHANY of what rag  ú alla Bolognese REALLY is.  Going off of how the chef explained the process, I googled to find an authentic recipe to get me going in the right direction.  Leave it to DC... it turns out THIS is the recipe I was looking for.

I am sick, just sick, of places in the US flying the "authentic Italian" flag, when the ingredients are shipped in from 1000 miles away and taste like chemicals and tin.  I have yet to find any restaurant that even serves authentic Italian pizza (light, fresh, crunchy crust that is small enough that even my 8yo can finish one) let alone use fresh ingredients.

But here... this recipe above is the real deal.  So I am bumping it.


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## Alix

Dianne is the one who posted the best spaghetti carbonara recipe I've ever made too. Thanks for pulling this one up velochic. (are we going to get to see pix of the holiday?)


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## Andy M.

Thanks for bumping this up.

I don't doubt this is a classic recipe for this sauce.  I'm going to try it.

As the OP stated in her narrative, her research revealed many different recipes.  I suspect Ragu alla Bolognese is one of those recipes that differs from kitchen to kitchen and has evolved over time into a number of different versions.  

I suspect if you questioned Italian food historians, professional chefs and housewives from Bologna or experts on that region, you would get a different variation of the recipe from each one.


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## Alix

Did you see how many views this sucker has had? Over 25,000! Holy moly.


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## kadesma

I'm with Andy and find many things DH's mom use to make are far different than others make yet all are special in there own way, To me the main thing with each is the best ingredients possible.
kades


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## PrincessFiona60

kadesma said:


> I'm with Andy and find many things DH's mom use to make are far different than others make yet all are special in there own way, To me the main thing with each is the best ingredients possible.
> kades


 
And cooking for those you Love!  And with Love.


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## kadesma

PrincessFiona60 said:


> And cooking for those you Love!  And with Love.



so true. Love gets it
kades


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## velochic

This recipe tasted EXACTLY like the Bolognese we ate in... Bolognese this past month.  I'm sure there are small variations within families, but for a truly regional and authentic recipe, this just hit the spot, in general.

Something that is of interest to me is that when we were there, the idea of serving this with a thin pasta, such as spaghetti, just didn't exist.  It wasn't until I ate the real thing and made the real thing at home to realize that if you serve it with something thin, you have a pile of ragu and a pile of pasta and they don't combine to make a cohesive dish.  This was served, usually, with papardelle or other wide pasta and NOW I understand why.  What a revelation!  I'm falling in love all over again with Italian cuisine because it makes SO much sense.


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## Alix

Amen velochic!


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## taxlady

I'm really pleased to read that meat sauces are served on ribbon pasta. We make our own whole grain wheat pasta. It doesn't cut into spaghetti very well. It works great for ribbon pasta and lasagna noodles.


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## velochic

I meant the area of Bologna in my last post.  Ha... I got to excited about Bolognese and overused the word. This is how good this recipe is.  

Yes, Taxlady, the pasta shapes really made sense for me this last trip.  I was not interested in food as much the last time I visited Italy and didn't pay much attention.  It's so interesting that it really DOES make a difference!!


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## Bolas De Fraile

The ragu recipe in the first post is good, the length of cooking time is the key.I think Velo mentioned the variation between households this is very true, some would add chopped chicken liver, use speck, minced veal ect.
I like mine with polenta or conchiglie. also if you are using pasta please dont put a blob of ragu on top of the pasta, take the pasta to the sauce in stages till you get the right coverage.


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## Alix

Broke out the pasta maker last week. I'm going to use it again today and make this for dinner.


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## Margi Cintrano

I can still breathe the aromas of my paternal Grandmom Margherite´s  Bolognese Sauce ... I had inherited her recipes from her trattoria.  I understand your lovely recipe. 
Voglia Di Campagna ... The English translation of this expression does not do it justice; the desire for the countryside, however, the Italian phrase connotes " A Longing not merely for the countryside however, for pure gastronomical products and most of all, to connect us to the places where food is grown and grapes are crushed " ... Margi. Cintrano.


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## Margi Cintrano

*Emilia - Romagna ( Bolognese )*

Dianne,

I am enchanted with your Bolognese ... As I had stated in a quick post, I can still smell my paternal Grandmom Margherite´s at her Trattoria. 

The home of Proscuitto di Parma, and Parmigiano cured cow Parmesano cheese is also the home land of lesser known treasures, for example:
Balsamic Vinegar. In Bologna, I encountered tortellini and tagliatelli which was created to imitate Lucrezia Borgia´s stunning gold tresses, as the village legends revealled. Emilia Romagna consists of 8 regions; Bologna, Reggio, Parma, Placenza, Modena, Forli, Ravenna and Ferrara.

Each has its unique history and their individual topography and gastronomic products. In common, their gastronomic glory is their Râgù, or as we call it, Bolognese. Each family has their own traditional guarded recipe. 

In Soliera, a tiny agricultural rural village outside of Modena, a lovely elderly woman, and restaurateur shared her recipe with me. 

Her recipe differs slightly from yours, as she uses white wine, fresh tomatoes and  proscuitto di parma. Another interesting take on this renowned sauce in this province, is Italian American Chef Mario Batali´s recipe, where he had learnt to make it, at a Trattoria called Enoteca La Capannina, in the urban historic city of Bolonia itself. His rendition of the specialty is very much like my Grandmom´s and your´s except, that my Grandmom, due to her immigration to Little Italy in NYC, had product availability difficult for many years, thus, many friends and family members used to smuggle - literally - the products in their underwear and pockets, suitcases and any which way. Here is Enoteca La Capannina´s to die for version; 

5 tblps extra virgin olive oil
3 tblsps unsalted butter
1 carrot
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove ( Americans tend to love garlic thus this was added by Mario )
1 celery stalk
1/ 4 pound pancetta 
1 pound of ground veal
1 pound of ground pork 
1 cup milk
1/ 4 cup tomato paste
salt and blk. pepper to taste 
oregano, parsely, basil to taste 
Reggiano Parmesano cow cured cheese

The differences in my Grandmom´s recipe, which I had been inherited and am renovating are:

1) Margherite divided the meats as follows: 1/2 pound ground veal, 1/2 ground pork, 1/2 pound pork sweet sausage ground meat and 1/2 pound piquant spicy sausage ground 

2) My Grandmom used Fiore Sardo, a ewe cured cheese from Sardinia, called Pecorino rather than the cow variety when possible. The 1st Italian NYC Importer still in existance today is, a well known shop on Grand Street in Manhattan. 

3) My grandmom also used milk, which acts as a tenderizer for the meat and she also used 1 glass of red wine, originally, as she did not have access to white wine, during the 40s and 50s and 60s. 

The balance of the recipe is the same. 

I had tried your Bolognese today, which you mentioned is from Tuscana and my gent mentioned, " Margi, this is a bit different tasting, I love it ". 

So, thanks for posting such a lovely take on Bolognese.

Margi Cintrano.


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## gonefishin

Hi Dianne (hello ALL)

 I do love the recipe you posted above.  I had first come across it here.  I love this recipe with some homemade tagliatelle, in fact I haven't made it in quite a while...I need to go shopping  

  Hello Margi!

   Thanks for posting your recipe as well!  I think I'll make your recipe next, thanks


Dan


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## Alix

Just a reminder that Dianne has not been with us for a long, long time folks. This thread was originally posted in 2003. This recipe has stood the test of time for sure, many of us have come back to it again and again, but sadly Dianne does not visit any more.


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## Margi Cintrano

*So Sorry To Hear Dianne Is Not Posting Anymore*

So sorry to hear this. Is she well ? Is she in Tuscany ? 

Truly would have enjoyed discussing our Italian heritage and family gastronomy with her. 

If Dianne does contact anybody in this Community, do please give her my contact data. I would be so greatful since we share a unique thread, our Bolognese. 

Thanks so much.
Margi Cintrano


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## Alix

Margi, sometimes folks just drift away from message boards. I suspect Dianne was one of these. I have made both her carbonara and bolognese regularly though and think of her fondly whenever I do.


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## Margi Cintrano

*@ Alix: Thanks for your feedback*

@ Alix,

I sincerely appreciate your feedback and am truly sorry that Dianne has taken a sabbatical from this Community. I am sure, she is truly missed. 

As mentioned previously, I hope that she is well and shall return to read her messages.

I shall always be open to discussing our mutual heritage and gifts of Italian culture.  

All my best.
Margi Cintrano.


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