Bolognese Sauce

Published on March 15, 2020 in Italian By Vincenzo Prosperi

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HOW TO MAKE BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Bolognese sauce smothered over your favourite pasta is known to warm the heart and perfect for any day of the week. This pork and beef mince based sauce has a special, often forgotten ingredient that makes all the difference…moist, juicy pancetta! The key to keeping Bolognese sauce moist and flavoursome, is slow cooking it keeping all the meat luscious and tender.

We recommend making an extra-large batch and storing extra in the fridge or freezer for a mid-week meal that will take you right back to Italy.

Watch Bolognese Sauce video recipe:

How to make Bolognese Sauce

Vincenzo’s Top Tips To Make Bolognese Sauce

KEEP it moist!

If there is not a lot of moisture in the pan, add one more glass of water to your mixture and bring the cooking temperature down slightly as you want the sauce to remain nice and moist.

Stir every so often

It is very important to keep the Bolognese sauce simmer and stir it every so often.

MIX MIX

The key to keep the sauce completely lathered to your pasta is to mix it through and again.

How to serve Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese sauce pasta can be served on a plate or in a bowl – either way, you’ll likely add some extra sauce! You can also add a sprinkle of parmigiano or pecorino cheese to the top for some added salty goodness.

Bolognese Sauce

Vincenzo's Plate

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Equipment

Sharp knife
Chopping-board
Hand blender
2 pot Medium – large size
wooden spoon
Tongs
Large serving spoon

Ingredients

1 Brown onion
1 stalk Celery
1 Carrot
150 grams Pancetta 5.03oz
500 grams Beef 17.06oz mince
200 7.05oz Pork 7.05oz mince
500 ml Tomato 16.8oz Basil sugo or Tomato passata
Extra virgin olive oil EVOO
1 glass White wine
1 - 2 glass Water
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano optional

Instructions

Bolognese sauce starts with a delicious foundation – soffrito with a twist! Start by roughly chopping the carrot, onion and celery, and cutting the pancetta into strips.
Mix all chopped up ingredients together and combine well using a hand blender.
Place medium-large size pot on the stove at a low-medium heat.
Once the pot has started to warm, add 4-5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).
When the oil has warmed up, add the soffrito and combine with the oil using a wooden spoon.
Leave the soffrito to simmer for around 10 minutes.
Add the beef and pork mince to your Bolognese sauce mix, breaking down the chunks of meat using a wooden spoon as you cook it.
Next you can sprinkle a generous amount of salt along with dried oregano (or an alternate herb of your choice), along with a glass of white wine.
Leave the Bolognese sauce to simmer for approx. minutes, stirring every so often. This should start to bubble as the wine evaporates.
Now it’s time to add the bottle of passata/tomato sauce and a sprinkle of pepper before continuing to mix once again.
The final ingredient is 1 x glass of water. Add this to your Bolognese sauce, mix through and cover, leaving it to cook for 30 minutes.
Stir the sauce every 10 minutes so the meat cooks evenly and nothing sticks to the pan.
Once 30 minutes have passed, uncover and mix well using a wooden spoon.
At this point if there are any thick chunks of meat, break them down again using your wooden spoon before leaving the sauce to simmer once more for 30 minutes, stirring every ten and leaving the lid off.
In the meantime, boil 5L water in a second pot and add a tablespoon of rock salt, leaving it to dissolve.
Once the sauce has finished cooking and your water has boiled, add your choice of pasta to the water and cook according to the packet instructions.
While the pasta is boiling, prepare a large fry pan for mixing!
Place a frypan on the stove at a low heat, and add a generous spoonful (or two!) of Bolognese sauce, covering the base.
Next, add the strained pasta into the pan along with 2 x spoonful’s of pasta water.
Mix this through until the pasta is completely lathered before adding another generous amount of Bolognese sauce and mixing again.
E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!