Bolognese Recipe
A traditional bolognese sauce made with a slow-cooked soffritto, browned beef, milk, and tomato, simmered until thick and served over spaghetti or tagliatelle.
Equipment
- Large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
- large pot for pasta
- cheese grater
Ingredients
Soffritto
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion very finely diced
- 2 medium carrots very finely diced
- 2 celery stalks very finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Meat Sauce
- 1½ lbs ground beef 80/20
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt plus more to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
For Serving
- 1 lb spaghetti or tagliatelle
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil or parsley for garnish
Instructions
Build the Soffritto
- Finely dice the onion, carrots, and celery into pieces no larger than a pea, using a food processor if you like to speed this up, since smaller pieces melt into the sauce instead of leaving chunky bits.
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the diced vegetables and a pinch of salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes, until they're soft, sweet, and translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Brown the Beef and Add the Milk
- Raise the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the meat has lost its pink color and any liquid has cooked off, letting it pick up a little brown color on the bottom of the pot.
- Pour in the milk and let it simmer, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, until it has almost completely evaporated and the meat looks creamy and tender. This step softens the beef and mellows the acidity of the tomato that comes next.
Build the Sauce
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly in color and smells sweet and concentrated. Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, bay leaf, oregano, nutmeg, salt, and pepper, stirring well to combine and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Simmer Low and Slow
- Bring the sauce to a gentle bubble, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pot partly with a lid, and simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes. Add a splash of water or broth if the sauce looks like it's drying out. The sauce is done when it's thick, glossy, and deep brownish-red, with a thin layer of fat rising to the surface.
- Remove the bay leaf, then taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or pepper as needed.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water until just al dente, reserving about ½ cup of the pasta water before draining. Add the drained pasta directly to the pot of sauce along with a splash of pasta water, tossing over low heat for a minute until every strand is coated. Serve immediately, topped with freshly grated parmesan and fresh basil or parsley.
Notes
- Finely dicing the soffritto vegetables is one of the most important prep steps, since larger pieces stay distinct in the sauce while very small ones dissolve and give it body.
- Cooking the soffritto slowly over medium-low heat, rather than browning it, keeps the flavor sweet and mellow. Adding the milk before the tomato is a traditional technique that helps tenderize the beef and softens the acidity, so don't skip it even though it feels unusual.
- Cooking the tomato paste until it darkens deepens the savory flavor of the whole sauce.
- Simmer the sauce as gently as possible, with just an occasional bubble breaking the surface, and don't let it boil hard or scorch on the bottom.
- Tossing the cooked pasta in the sauce for a minute before serving helps the sauce cling to every strand instead of sliding off.
- The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.