Ragù alla Bolognese

I make garlic oil and keep it in a squeeze bottle by the stove. It comes in really handy for cooking and for flavoring finished dishes. You can use plain extra-virgin olive oil if you wish. In fact, that would be more traditional than garlic. For added flavor, sauté 150 grams of minced pancetta in the olive oil until the fat is rendered. Remove the cooked pancetta. Brown the meat in the oil. Add the cooked pancetta to the meat just before adding the wine. Ragù alla Bolognese should be served with a wide long pasta such as mafalde or linguine.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 5

Total Time 35

Servings: 1 liters

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1 kg ground beef 15% fat (or half beef and half pork)
30 ml garlic oil
500 ml full-bodied red wine
60 g butter
60 g celery cut in brunoise (3 mm or 1/8 inch dice)
100 g carrot cut in brunoise (3 mm or 1/8 inch dice)
100 g onion cut in brunoise (3 mm or 1/8 inch dice)
3 kg canned San Marzano tomatoes passed through a food mill (3 x 35 oz cans)
1 bay leaf optional
salt
black pepper freshly ground

Method

Heat the butter in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan. Add the celery, carrot, and onion.
Sauté the celery, carrot, and onion in the butter until soft without browning. Reserve.
Heat the garlic oil, or extra-virgin olive oil, in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Add the beef and pork, if using.
While the meat is cooking, break it up into small bits.
Sauté the beef and pork, if using, in the garlic oil until a lot of fond develops.
Add the wine and boil it all away, loosening the fond from the bottom of the pan.
Pass the canned tomatoes through a food mill.
Add the sautéed vegetables, the tomatoes that have been passed through a food mill, and bay leaf, if using.
Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer 3 to 4 hours partially covered, stirring frequently, until reduced by 50%.

Notes

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