This is one of my grandmother Bice’s recipes: she used to make the best ever Bolognese sauce. This is not the Bolognese you are used to. It is a version that requires less tomatoes than what we would normally put in ragu’. Ragu’ can be either made with mince (which is what is commonly known in the world as “Bolognese”) or with pieces of meat, which is a version more commonly cooked in the Southern regions of Italy. I usually make mince ragu’ for my lasagne, while I make Bolognese (recipe below) to eat with tagliatelle or fettuccine. My grandmother’s recipe is made with lots of carrots which give the sauce a sweeter taste. It is simply delicious and very easy to make. Enjoy!
Ingredients (4 persons):
350 gms beef mince
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 glass red wine
300 gms tinned diced tomatoes
Salt
Pepper
800 ml water
350 gms egg tagliatelle
Parmigiano Reggiano very finely grated to serve
Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery and put them in a pot with the extra virgin olive oil.
Sauté on slow fire till soft (but not brown).
Then add the mince and stir well with a wooden spoon making sure you remove all the lumps. Brown the meat well. Add the red wine and raise the fire to burn off the alcohol.
Add the salt, pepper, tomatoes and water.
Cover and cook on a low fire for about an hour. Add water (or reduce it on the fire) if needed. The sauce doesn’t have to be too thick, you have to be able to see ½ a glass of watery sauce at the bottom of the pan when you stir it.
Cook the tagliatelle following the steps on How to cook pasta “al dente” in the Techniques page of this site. Drain it and serve with the Bolognese sauce and thinly grated Parmigiano Reggiano on the top.
Manu, I went through the recipes posted this time around for SRC and tried to guess which one might be yours. I’m proud to report that after just 2 attempts (the first one was the risotto!), I tried this one, and it was the right one. This looks absolutely delicious, and bears one of your trademarks: simple!!! It’s a winning formula–simple + fresh ingredients = beautiful and delicious. What a great blog. Thanks!!!
A great Italian classic, even if I never thought about the difference between ragù and bolognese sauce… maybe ’cause I don’t eat it so often! 😉
This looks delicious – I like to add just a dash of Worcester sauce to mine too. I can never resist adding a little spice!
Tagliatelle and spaghetti are my fave pasta and bolognaise meat sauce just goes so well with it. I have found that mixing the beef mince with some pork mince also makes the sauce more flavoursome and the meat sweet and succulent.
OMG you were absolutely right… my meat sauce was really authentic Italian! Japanese always put celery, carrot, onion (mushroom is my option)…we’re making it right! Oh I love bolognese…I can eat this everyday, seriously!!
Wow.. that sauce looks amazing.. I really wish I was your neighbor 😀
My husband and I both love bolognese! Great looking recipe.
Bolognese is one of my favorite sauces!! I make it often at home and can’t wait to try your grandmother’s recipe. Thanks for sharing it!
This looks great manu, basically exactly the same as i make bolognese. i actually made it on tuesday for my boys 1st bday, he loved it.
Looks amazing.
I’ve heard sometimes it’s made with milk instead of tomatoes? In fact, some aussie celeb chef claims it’s not authentic bolognese if it has tomatoes. Like anyone cares. Look out Manu, the food authenticity police are coming to get you…^_^
LOL Lau! He is right… the “original” recipe includes milk too… but almost nobody uses it any more when cooking it at home. It also requires pancetta (which I avoid as I cannot find the real Italian pancetta here)… However, tomatoes are always included in a bolognese (at least per the recipe that was registered at the Chamber of Commerce of Bologna). I would actually like to try the version with milk! Maybe next time I make it! 🙂
Fantastic family recipe and so glad that you shared with us! 😀
I’ve never try adding red wine in my meat sauce before and wondering how it tastes like. 🙂
Thanks Manu for sharing this…I was looking for a real Bolognese souce…
Looks absolutely delicious!
Thanks Rach!!! <3
I love pasta, and I must say that this pasta dish of yours looks totally drool worthy for me! I love everything in the sauce, Manu!
I love how you share family recipes with us! I love bolognese, your grandmothers recipe looks divine. Thanks for sharing it with us 🙂
Perfect bolognese! This looks hearty and delicious!
Great work Manu! Love lots of carrots 🙂 So, ragu` has more tomatoes, and it’s what you put in your lasagne; whereas Bolognese sauce has less tomatoes and goes well on tagliatelle or fettuccine. I never thought of it, but it makes sense 🙂 Yummy pictures, BTW!
Oh Manu this looks so appealing, I can go little high on wine 😉
I just got up with a cup of tea in my hand I am drooling for this…
Lovely
Manu, sembrano buonissime! mamma mia che acquolina in bocca che mi hai messo!!! 😉
Besides just looking good, but then you always make your food look good, I love the simplicity of this recipe! Bolognese is one of our favorite comfort foods, but the recipe I use has A LOT more ingredients and takes me all afternoon. Looks like I might be replacing mine with Grandmother Bice’s! 🙂
Simply gorgeous. I love the broad noodles with the richness of the sauce. I will make this, but with ground chicken or turkey in efforts to help cut down red meat. Canada’s Food Guide says that a serving of meat is 75g – this recipe is just slightly higher, but you could probably cut it down a smidgen! Thanks.
Great family recipe! Adding the carrot sounds delicious, I’ve never made bolognese sauce with carrot before 🙂 Buzzed
Manu, your family recipe looks incredible!!! With a touch of autumn in the air, this would make a perfect dinner~
I can smell that gorgeous sauce from here, Manu. As it’s the last day of my hols, you’ve inspired me to eat out Italian tonight 🙂
Oh boy! Haven´t even had breakfast yet but I already want to have this!!!!