Classic Ragu Bolognese Food

CLASSIC RAGU BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Saute until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add beef, veal, and pancetta; saute, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes. Add wine; boil 1 minute, stirring often and scraping up browned bits. Add 2 1/2 cups stock and tomato paste; stir to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring milk to a simmer in a small saucepan; gradually add to sauce. Cover sauce with lid slightly ajar and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes, adding more stock by 1/4-cupfuls to thin if needed. DO AHEAD: Ragu can be made 2 days ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Transfer ragu to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pasta and toss to coat. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water by tablespoonfuls if sauce seems dry. Divide pasta among warm plates. Serve with Parmesan.

CLASSIC RAGU BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Saute until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add beef, veal, and pancetta; saute, breaking up with the back of a spoon, until browned, about 15 minutes. Add wine; boil 1 minute, stirring often and scraping up browned bits. Add 2 1/2 cups of stock and tomato paste; stir to blend. Reduce heat to very low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until flavors meld, 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring milk to a simmer in a small saucepan; gradually add to sauce. Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until milk is absorbed, about 45 minutes, adding more stock by 1/4-cupfuls to thin if needed. DO AHEAD: Ragu can be made 2 days ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm befor continuing.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Transfer ragu to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pasta and toss to coat. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water by tablespoonfuls if sauce seems dry. Divide pasta among warm plates. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• The building of a ragu involves three simple steps: browning the vegetables and meats, reducing flavorful liquids over the browned foods to build up layers of taste, then covering them with liquid and simmering gently until the flavors have blended and the meats are tender. Ragu`s should be rich without being heavy. A ragu is a meat sauce with tomato, it is not a tomato sauce with meat.
• Adapted from Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
• In a small sauce pot, bring the cream up to a simmer and reduce by 1/3. About 6 tablespoons of cream should be remaining. In a sauce pot, render the pancetta over medium heat, about 8 minutes, or until almost all the fat is rendered. Stir in the carrots, celery, and onions. Season with salt and pepper. Saute the vegetables for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are translucent. In a mixing bowl, combine the meats. Season the meats with salt and pepper. Increase the heat and stir in the meat. Brown the meat for 5 minutes, or until the meat is medium brown in color. Stir in the wine, garlic and diluted tomato paste, and reduce the heat to very low. Cook partially covered for 2 hours. From time to time stir in a tablespoon or so of the milk, by the end of the two hours the milk should be incorporated. Stir in the reduced cream. Season with salt and black pepper

RAGU ALLA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• In a large, deep saute pan, heat olive oil over high heat and add carrots, celery, onions, and pancetta and cook, stirring, until vegetables are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the beef and cook another 2 minutes. Add pork and cook until meat is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• Whisk together the tomato paste and 1 cup of the broth, and add it to meat. Place pan over low heat so that sauce just barely simmers. When broth has evaporated, add another cup. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally and adding a cup of broth when stew becomes dry, until all the broth has been added, about 3 hours.
• Add milk and butter, and continue to simmer very gently until milk has reduced and sauce is very thick, about 2 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, and serve over tagliatelle or pappardelle with Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Put all the ingredients in a pot and cover with water. Cook on low; it should boil after about 1 hour. Lower the heat to a low boil. Cook 3 more hours after it has started to boil. Pour the broth through a sieve and refrigerate. The next morning, take off all the fat. You should be left with about 2 quarts of broth. The meat can be served as a bollito with salsa verde.
• Yield: 8 servings

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.

CLASSIC BOLOGNESE SAUCE (A.K.A. RAGU)

Steps:

• In order to prevent the ragu from reducing too quickly, use the heaviest, deepest pot that you own.
• Melt butter& oil and saute onion& garlic over medium heat until just translucent.
• Add celery& carrot and cook gently for about 2 minutes.
• Add the ground beef, crumbling it in the pot with a fork.
• Stir in salt.
• Cook only until the meat loses its raw, red colour.
• Add the wine, turn heat up to medium high and cook, stirring occasionally, until all the wine evaporates (1/2 hour to 45 minutes).
• Turn the heat down to medium, add the milk& nutmeg and cook, stirring frequently, until all the milk evaporates (1/2 hour TO 45 minutes).
• Add oregano, pepper& tomatoes and stir thoroughly.
• When the tomatoes have started to boil, turn the heat down until the sauce cooks at the laziest simmer- just the occasional bubble.
• Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for at least 4 hours (5 hours is better).
• If you can't watch the sauce for such a long stretch, you can interrupt this simmering time- but DO complete it in the same day!