🍝 Bolognese sauce

Ragù alla bolognese, known abroad as bolognese sauce, is a slow-cooked meat sauce from Bologna. Its reference recipe is the one deposited by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce: first on 17 October 1982, replaced by an updated text deposited on 20 April 2023.

For six people the 2023 recipe lists 400 g of coarsely minced beef, 150 g of sliced fresh pork pancetta, half an onion, one carrot and one celery stalk (about 60 g each), a glass of red or white wine, 200 g of tomato passata, one spoonful of double tomato concentrate, light meat or vegetable broth, three spoonfuls of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and optionally a glass of whole milk.

The pancetta is melted in the oil in a heavy pan of 24–26 cm; the finely chopped vegetables are added and softened slowly over medium-low heat. The heat is raised and the meat cooked for about ten minutes until it sizzles. The wine is added and evaporated completely, then the concentrate and passata; with a cup of boiling broth the sauce cooks gently, covered, for about 2 hours (up to 3), with hot broth added as needed. Halfway through, following an old tradition, the milk may be added and left to be absorbed completely. The ragù should come out dark orange, enveloping and creamy.

The recipe allows mixed beef (about 60%) and pork (about 40%, loin or capocollo), knife-minced meat, flat or rolled pork pancetta instead of fresh, and a hint of nutmeg. It does not allow veal, smoked pancetta, pork alone, garlic, rosemary, parsley or other herbs and spices, brandy instead of wine, or flour as a thickener. It may be enriched with chicken livers and hearts, crumbled pork sausage, blanched peas or soaked dried porcini.