Hearty Ragu Bolognese Recipes

RAGU BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion, celery and carrots until soft. Add veal, pork, beef and pancetta, and cook until evenly brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour in milk, and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and beef broth. Cover, and simmer 2 1/2 hours.

WEEKNIGHT BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 more minute. Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.
• While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining 1/4 cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened. When the pasta is cooked, drain and pour into a large serving bowl. Add the sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan and toss well. Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.

RAGù

Steps:

• To prepare the ragu start to peel the carrot with peeler or a knife, so as to remove the outer layer; do the same with a rib of celery, also removing the top and the bottom part of the stem, including leaves that will not be used for this preparation. Remove the outer layer of the onion and then cut it all into small cubes of uniform size and shape, in a way to ensure a perfect cooking. In a large saucepan with thick bottom pour the extra virgin olive oil and let it heat up. Add the diced celery, carrot and onion and cook for 15 minutes until the onion are slightly transparent and begins turning a golden color. Add the bacon, stir and cook for a few minutes. Add the minced meat, mix well all the ingredients together and let it cook over high heat for a few minutes. Deglaze with white wine, stir well and cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated and the bottom will be dry, in this way you'll make evaporate the alcohol while maintaining only the aroma of the wine.In the meantime mix the tomato paste with half a glass of hot meat broth, in order to melt it. When the wine has evaporated add the broth in which you have melted the tomato paste, and add the tomato sauce; stir well and cover the pot with a lid. Now turn down flame on the stove at the lowest setting and cook for an hour. After an hour add salt and pepper and a few ladles of hot broth into the sauce, it's important to use only hot broth -and not cold- to avoid the interruption of the cooking of the sauce; cover with the lid and cook for another 3 hours, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon so that the ragù does not stick to the bottom. If you see that the ragù sauce dries too much during the cooking, add a ladle of hot broth when needed.

AUTHENTIC BOLOGNESE WITH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Cube the pancetta and dice celery, carrots and onion into small pieces. Pulse the whole tomatoes in a blender for a couple of seconds.
• Saute the pancetta on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, then add in the veggies and continue to cook for 10 more minutes until they are translucent and soft.
• Turn heat to medium and add the ground beef to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces. After the meat has browned and cooked through add 3/4 cup of white wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to dislodge all the flavor bits.
• Cook the wine out for 10 minutes, then add the 1 cup of low sodium beef stock and all the crushed plum tomatoes. Stir it all together, turn heat to low, then cover with a tight-fitting lid and let cook for a minimum of 2 hours.
• Every 20 minutes or so check that the sauce is not drying out and sticking to the bottom of the pot. If so, add in a half to 1 cup of water and stir to combine.
• After 2 hours the fat from the meat and the pancetta will float to the top and the ragu will have thickened somewhat. Stir to combine then add the milk and optional cream. Stir and cook at a simmer for 15-30 minutes more.
• If the sauce is not thick enough continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes before saucing the pasta. Prior to saucing, taste test and adjust salt and pepper if required.
• To sauce the pasta add a few ladles of the bolognese sauce to a pan over medium-low heat, then add in the 'al dente' pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes so that the pasta can absorb the sauce. Add extra sauce as required and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Enjoy!

HEARTY RAGU BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place onions, celery, carrot and garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. In a Dutch oven, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add vegetable mixture and nutmeg; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until vegetables are softened., Add beef; cook 6-8 minutes longer or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove with a slotted spoon; discard drippings from pan., In same pan, cook sausage over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Return beef mixture to pan. Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until wine is evaporated. Add broth and chicken breasts; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 12-15 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165°. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Finely chop chicken., Add cream and tomato paste; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pot; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 3-4 hours or until flavors are blended, stirring occasionally. Serve with pasta.