Best Bolognese Recipe
The only bolognese sauce you'll ever need. The meat is braised in white wine, milk and stock producing a rich and addictive pasta sauce.
Servings: 4 - 6 people
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 300 grams ground beef
- 300 grams ground pork
- 110 g pancetta chopped into small pieces
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped (about 2 big sprigs)
- 1 tbsp fresh sage finely chopped
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups white wine I used a sauvignon blanc
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup whole milk
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup cream optional
- Lemon zest to serve optional
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat and add the ground meat. Don't worry too much about breaking it all up, I prefer to leave it alone to get some good color on it. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way through.
- When it has some nice colour on it, but still some pink in the middle, set aside.
- Heat the other 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan/casserole dish over medium heat and fry the pancetta for 10 minutes until nicely browned. Lift out with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
- Add the onion, celery, carrot mixture and a good pinch of salt and pepper and gently fry until soft, about 10 mins. Lower heat if it starts to brown and add more oil if it dries out too much.
- After 5 minutes add the garlic and herbs and continue cooking.
- Add the ground meat and pancetta and mix the tomato paste through.
- Cook the tomato paste off for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat really well with a wooden spoon.
- Add the wine and let it cook off, reducing for 5 - 6 mins. The meat should be completely broken up at this stage.
- Add the stock and milk and bring to a simmer.
- Taste the liquid for seasoning and add a good pinch of salt and pepper if it needs.
- Lower the heat right down and cook uncovered for 2 ½ - 3 hours. It should barely be bubbling. Stir it occasionally.
- It's ready when the liquid is mostly reduced and it tastes rich and delicious!
- Add the lemon juice and cream if serving straight away. Leave the cream out if not using straight away and add it when you reheat.
- I allow about 1 cup of meat sauce per person for a big portion. Add your cooked pasta straight into the sauce with a splash of pasta water (boil 100 grams dried pasta per person) and let it gently bubble IN the sauce for 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with plenty of parmesan and some lemon zest on top.
Notes
- Please read all my notes above the recipe. It's packed with useful information I promise!
- Use all beef or all pork if you prefer.
- A note on seasoning: Salt can be what turns an average sauce into a brilliant one. I like to season along the way rather than relying on it at the end. Add a really good pinch of salt and pepper to the onions, then again before you leave it to simmer. Don't be afraid of seasoning!
- Make this the day before if you can, sauces become so much more delicious with time.