(Bolognese sauce - Traditional recipe)

300 g (10 1/2 oz) beef meat, minced
150 g (5 1/2 oz) pancetta (or slab bacon), finely chopped
Half a glass of red or white wine
A glass of meat stock
50 g (1 3/4 oz) onion, finely chopped
50 g (1 3/4 oz) carrot, finely chopped
50 g (1 3/4 oz) celery rib, chopped
5 tablespoons puréed tomatoes
Salt
Pepper, if you like
Cream or milk (optionally)

Time:
preparation: 20 minutes
cooking: 2 hours
Difficulty:
easy recipe
Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 242 (kCal) - 1012 (kJ)
Protein: 25.7 (g)
Total fat: 12.5 (g)
Total carbohydrate: 5.9 (g)
Sugars: 5.6 (g)

Bolognese sauce is a meat-and tomato-based pasta sauce, originating in Bologna (Italy).

Cook pancetta, carrot, onion and celery in a non-stick frying pan, over moderate heat, stirring, until they start to soften.
Add the minced beef and keep on cooking, stirring, until the meat colours.
Pour in wine; let it evaporate.
At this point pour in stock and puréed tomatoes; season to taste with salt and pepper (if you like) and simmer for almost two hours, half-covered, over a very low heat.
Add other meat stock only if necessary.

Bolognese sauce is characterized by its long, slow cooking so that the meat softens and begins to break down in the cooking medium. In fact people who like tradition in the cuisine don't use minced meat but chop the meat with a knife.

We are going to tell you some different ways to make this sauce; some of them are far from the Bolognese tradition.
Some people substitute beef with a mix of beef, pork and fresh sausage.
Nowadays olive oil (2 tablespoons) is used instead of pancetta for a low fat recipe.
If you like you can use milk instead of meat stock. Simmering meat in the milk mellows the acidity of tomatoes. In this case use milk and then add white wine.
The traditional recipe says that you can add, when you switch off the gas, the cream you obtain after boiling 1 litre of whole milk but the recipe has more calories and fat. In this case simmer the sauce in meat stock.
The recipe issued in 1982 by the Bolognese delegation of Accademia Italiana della Cucina confines the ingredients to beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, meat stock, white wine, and (optionally) milk or cream.

Note

- Use this sauce for dressing egg pasta such as tagliatelle or for stuffing lasagna or cannelloni. Don't use it for dressing spaghetti! This is a dish invented outside of Italy in the North of Europe.
- You can use tomato paste instead of puréed tomatoes; in this case use two tablespoons.