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Bolognese

By Patrick Hogan
Pin Recipe

A rich and hearty Bolognese sauce paired with your pasta of choice, topped with Parmigiano Reggiano for a satisfying, traditional Italian dish.

Bolognese hero image
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
4 hr
Total Time
4 hr 30 min
Yield
4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 oz diced pancetta
  • 200g small dice sweet onion (~1 large onion)
  • 180g small dice carrot (~2 large carrots)
  • 160g small dice celery (~2 large stalks)
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 cup of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
  • 3 oz Mutti double concentrated tomato paste
  • ½ tbsp Diamond kosher salt
  • 1 cup of whole milk
  • 2.25 lb 80/20 ground beef mince
  • 1 28 oz can of Bianco di Napoli whole peeled tomatoes
  • 4 oz water
  • 16 oz dried pasta of choice, such as rigatoni, tagliatelle, pappardelle, or penne
  • 16 oz finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions

  1. Dice onion, carrot, and celery and place in a bowl to make the soffritto.
  2. Mince garlic and set aside in a small ramekin.
  3. Open tomatoes and pour into a medium bowl, mashing thoroughly with a tomato masher and set aside.
  4. Heat oil and pancetta in a dutch oven on medium high heat until well browned.
  5. Place the soffritto in the dutch oven, heating and stirring with a wooden spoon for about 7 minutes. Add garlic in the last minute.
  6. Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of white wine and stir with a wooden spoon until almost no liquid remains and the smell of alcohol is gone, about 7-10 minutes.
  7. Push soffritto and pancetta to the side of the dutch oven and add tomato paste to the empty region. Allow the tomato paste to mingle with a little of the remaining liquid, stir, and simmer for 2 minutes and add the salt.
  8. Pour in milk and add ground beef mince.
  9. Quickly stir ground beef mince and integrate thoroughly with the other ingredients, stirring until the mixture begins to slowly bubble.
  10. Add mashed tomatoes to the mixture, rinsing the can with 4 oz of water and adding to the mixture. Stir until the mixture starts to bubble and reduce heat to the lightest simmer setting.
  11. Allow to simmer uncovered for 3.5-4 hours until all water has evaporated, stirring every 20-30 minutes. The only remaining liquid should be fat.
  12. If the mixture becomes prematurely dehydrated, add 4 ounces of water. Be sure to allow all excess water to evaporate before serving.
  13. Boil pasta in heavily salted water according to its package timing until al dente. Strain pasta. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
  14. Add 1 cup of pasta water back to the large pot that you used to boil the pasta in and reduce on high heat to ¼ cup. Once reduced add the pasta and bolognese and cook on high for one minute.
  15. Serve 4 portions and top each with 1/4 of the grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Notes

  • The most important factor in this recipe is using high quality tomatoes and tomato paste. The brands called for here lend a good amount of sweetness without making the sauce overly acidic.
  • Many recipes suggest a mix of beef, pork, and veal for mince. I prefer the taste of just beef.
  • Garlic is a non-standard bolognese addition. I have made it with and without and think it's a little better with it. This can be omitted.