ItDe

Ragù alla bolognese

Ragù is a Bolognese specialty prepared with minced meat. Many use different types of meat, in my version there is mostly beef and only a little pork. It's my favorite one. The important thing is that the beef is not too thin, otherwise you get to make half and half or add a chopped up of bacon to the mixture.

Fundamental, for the success of an excellent Bolognese sauce, is to follow all the cooking phases well, with patience and attention and not in a hurry. The long cooking is in fact fundamental for the right taste and consistency.

Bolognese ragù is usually served with fresh egg tagliatelle, but it is also a fundamental ingredient in lasagna and cannelloni. In Emilia it is also tasted with polenta.
INGREDIENTS
1 stalk of celery
1 small carrot
1 small white onion
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 sprig of rosemary
400 g ground beef
100 g minced pork
100 ml red wine
1 kg of tomato puree
salt
Freshly ground black pepper
50 ml whole milk
INFORMATION
6 people
215 kcal per serving
medium difficulty
ready in 6-7 hours
it can be prepared in advance
PREPARATION
  1. Wash the celery and carrot and peel the onions. Finely chop all the vegetables with a vegetable grater. I usually use the thinner side of a 4 side grater.
  2. The right pan for preparing ragu is one medium height, wide enough, made of steel and with a thick and uniform bottom. Do not use non-stick cookware because the meat must brown to give flavor to the dishes.
  3. Put oil and vegetables into the pan.
  4. Set it on the low heat and fry it for about ten minutes, stirring constantly. When half cooked, add a pinch of salt. Leave the pan covered for all this faze.
  5. In the meantime, wash the rosemary, select the leaves and finely chop them in half on a cutting board.
  6. When the vegetables are fried, raise the fire and add some meat, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add chopped rosemary and season the meat until it dries, all of its cooking water and starts to stick to the bottom. Stir constantly at this point so that it does not burn out.
  8. Add red wine and continue cooking over high heat until it evaporates completely and the meat turns brown. This phase is very important because aromatic compounds are formed that make the sauce good, and because there should be no trace of alcohol in it, which makes the sauce unpleasant.
  9. When the evaporation is over, add the tomato puree, several big pinches of salt, ground pepper and mix.
  10. Cover and wait until it begins to boil.
  11. At this point, it is necessary to transfer the pan to a low fire in size and slowly lower the flame until it slowly cooks, barely boiling.
  12. Rago should be cooked for 3 hours with a lid. Stir it with a wooden spoon from time to time.
  13. After the specified time, taste it and salt it.
  14. Add milk, mix well and turn off the fire. Milk has the function of weakening the acidity of a tomato, but if you don't like it, you can skip it. I advise you to try to see the difference.
  15. Now ragu is ready for trying it.
Barbara's suggestion
Ragu is better if prepared in advance. Before using it heat it on the low fire. If you keep it in the fridge, it should be covered well with cling film or should stay in a sealed jar for 3-4 days. It can be also frozen, but in this case it can stay for 3 months.
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