Delicious Bolognese Sauce The Italian Way

Saucepan with bolognese sauce with a wooden spoon lifting from it, filled with sauce.

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5 from 26 votes

Delicious Bolognese Sauce The Italian Way

A rich meat sauce prepared with simple staple ingredients, then slowly simmered for the perfect Italian meal.

Prep Time10

Cook Time2 20

Total Time2 30

Course: Main Course, Sauces

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: portions

Calories: 253kcal

Author: Elle John

Ingredients

2 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion finely chopped
1 Medium Carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 Celery Stick finely chopped
1.1 lbs Ground Beef
1.1 lbs Tomato Passata
1.5 cups Vegetable Broth
½ cup Red Wine
Salt and Pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a saucepan or large dutch oven, heat up the oil on a low to medium heat.
Once warm, add the thinly chopped onions, carrot, and celery. Mix well, and cook until they all soften, and the onion start turning golden. This will take approximately 5 minutes.
Next, add ground beef. Using a wooden spoon, break it up well, while ensuring it brownall around.
Once the beef is brown, add the salt and pepper, and mix well once more.
OPTIONAL: Once seasoned, add the red wine and mix well once more. Increasing to medium high heat, keep on cooking and mixing until all the liquid has evaporated. This will take about 10 minutes.
Once the wine has evaporated, reduce the flame again and add the passata. Mix well.
Straight away, add the vegetable broth too, and again, mix.
Allow the sauce to reach simmering point, then add the lid to the saucepan and reduce the heat to the lowest setting on your hob. It is essential that the lowest flame is used as the bolognese sauce will need to simmer for at least two hours. Slow cooked bolognese will allow every meat piece to flavor from the inside, while keeping it moist and tender.
Keeping the lid on, keep on simmering the sauce for at least two hours, stirring occasionally [every 20-30 minutes].
Once ready, check for seasoning once more, then serve with pasta, gnocchi, or potatoes.

Video

Notes

Pork and Beef Meat: Ground beef can be mixed with some ground pork too, and it is actually very common. You can also thinly chop some pancetta or crumble the meat of your favorite sausage to cook this sauce. If you are preparing your homemade bolognese sauce by mixing beef and pork, or Italian sausage, then you can choose either red or white wine for cooking.

Garlic: This is not used in bolognese sauce traditionally, however, it is often added. Simply add a finely chopped clove or two at the same time as the soffritto.

Beef Stock: This can be used instead of the vegetable one, however, ensure you don't overseason the sauce.

Milk or Sugar: A cup of whole milk or 2% [semi-skimmed] can be added about 20 minutes before the sauce is ready to remove the acidity of the tomato. One teaspoon of sugar can be used for the same purpose, so pick the ingredient you prefer.

Tomato Passata: If you can't find passata, the best substitute is tomato puree.

Chopped Canned Tomatoes and Tomato Paste: If using chunky or whole canned tomatoes, then you may need to use some tomato paste, too, as these tend to be more liquid than tomato passata. Adjust quantities based on thickness and preference. Diced tomatoes and canned peeled tomatoes may make the sauce more watery, so you may need to cook it a little longer for a thicker consistency.

Herbs: Feel free to add herbs and spices to the meat sauce. I occasionally add a laurel bay leaf or a sprig of rosemary. Depending on how you are planning to serve it, other good options are thyme, fresh basil, parsley, or marjoram.

Water: If, while simmering, the sauce dries out, add some water. This should not happen, as I cook mine with these exact proportions for even longer, so if your flame is too high, you may need a diffuser to help.

Storing & Reheating

In the fridge: A fresh homemade bolognese sauce can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days.
In the freezer: It can also be frozen for up to three months in freezer bags or an airtight container.
To reheat: If frozen, fully thaw the sauce overnight in the fridge. Add a few splashes of water to reheat in a saucepan, or move to a microwave-safe container and heat until thoroughly hot.

Nutrition