Ragù alla Bolognese
I'm going to say right at the start that this most likely isn't authentic Ragù Alla Bolognese. But you know what? It's good. It's damn good. And my family loves it. So if it isn't authentic, well, I'll still sleep at night. Because I can get my kids to eat it. With vegetables in it. Big plus in my book. And I'm also not telling everyone "I think this is an authentic recipe!" (not that I ever did...)
See the comments on that recipe for the full story, hehe. ;) Sorry, I'm still a bit gun-shy.
If you're interested, you can read a bit more about Ragu all Bolognese here.
This one is from Cooking Light. I really do love their recipes--they're always full of flavor, and very easy. This one takes a bit of time--but most of it's simmering time, so it's not very labor intensive. But the rewards are great! This is so freaking good! I've made it twice already in one week.
I only made a couple of changes. I added a couple of garlic cloves, because garlic makes everything better...except maybe your breath. Also, they use whole milk. I made it the first time with half and half, and the second time, I used 1% milk. Good both times! It's also really good with torn fresh basil thrown in at the end. I know, I know...basil isn't a traditional ingredient in this. But it's there in the garden, so yeah, I'm gonna toss some in if I want to.
So there! You tell 'em, Nick!
Ragù Alla Bolognese
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1 pound of a mixture of ground pork, veal and beef
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1 (14 1/2 oz) can chicken broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato puree
1 cup half and half or milk (I've used both--regular half and half, and 1 % milk.)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Heat oil in a large pan oven over medium heat.
Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic, cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove onion from pan and set aside.
Add ground meat to the pan and cook over medium heat until browned.
Add wine, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes.
Add the onion mixture back to the pan, then add the broth and tomato puree.
Simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Stir in half and half or milk and parsley, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes.
Discard bay leaf.
Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
Serve over your favorite pasta, and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Also, I've been fortunate enough to receive a new award, from two different bloggers! Thank you so much to Meryl, from Inspired Bites, and Kelly from Sass and Veracity. These ladies have two of the most gorgeous blogs around, so be sure to check them out!
I get to pass this along to five other blogs, but I'll have to come back and do that later. My husband is making dinner, but I'm his sous chef and he keeps me busy!
Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks so much for reading!
Elle | Print Article | Share Article | Email Article | 31 Comments tagged bolognese, cooking, main dish, new england, pasta, pasta sauce, recipe
Reader Comments (31)
That's a good looking ragu.
I made an authentic bolognese a while back and the wife thought I was crazy. It literally took all day! She was eating crackers watching the pot. But it was good.
It looks so tasty and who cares if it's authentic...except for Nathan ;). I have never put nutmeg in my sauce but I am sure it gives a great flavor - I'll try it next time.
It doesn't matter if it is authentic or not. What matters is if your family likes it (and eats it) Is there any authentic food, anyway? All the food we have now came from somewhere else at some point. Just keep creating, that's what counts :D
Authentic, Schmauthentic - a dish is great as long as YOU enjoy it!! :0)
Congratulations on the award!!
Who cares if it's not authentic...it looks amazing!
oh this sounds good & I've been looking for a good recipe for this
I love bolognese and I'm always interested in different versions of it. Still haven't figured out what I like the most.
Oooooh Elle! This looks delicious! Those wide noodles...perfect. And a little basil at the end is perfect. :D I had no idea about the authenticity hoopla, either. :O Sheesh! I say, make what ya like how ya like it. Who gives a shit if it's authentic or not? :P Love you! MUAC!
Hey, who cares if its not authentic - if it tastes great and is a hit with the kids then its winner in my book. I am DEFINITELY making this - looks yummy
A couple of recipes back you added extra garlic to that one too :) Hey, garlic is great, I say always keep a good thing coming.
Your kids are very lucky to have a tasty dish like that, and even with vegetables. When we had Ragu, it was because it said Ragu on the sauce bottle :)
Love you football countdown timer. Is it really only 18 days? Looking forward to week 2.
Nathan was 18 yrs old?? Still a teenager with lots to learn and you gave him a good lesson. Good for YOU! Now this looks like something my kids would like too Elle. And that's what's important , making food your family loves where ever it came from.
This looks great. Bolognese and pasta are one of my favorites!
Pfft, if everything made was authentic, we'd never find some awesome shortcuts or variations that turn out to work wonderfully. That being said, I've also made sure never to say anything is "authentic."
If you were *in* Poland and got a recipe from an old Polish lady, made said recipe and posted it as authentic, I'm sure you'd get someone disagreeing because his mom didn't make it the same way. Just one of those things =P
you've gotta have garlic in spaghetti sauce! to exclude it would be a sin against humanity. :)
Yum, this sounds so good, Elle!
gosh! it does look very good :) nice touch on the garlic. garlic sure makes everything better. anyway if it's the whole family have garlic together, notice things should be fine? if everyone's got garlic breath, you can hardly tell! at least tht's what one of my mates told me and it seems to be true. x
It's a lovely dinner... who cares if it's not exactly 'authentic!' It's got to be better than the pasta w/ bolognese that I picked up at Costco the other day for a quickie dinner!
MrOrph--thanks! I don't think my husband could wait all day. He'd be dipping bread in the pot till there was none left!
Pam--the nutmeg does give it a nice bit of "what is that I can taste in there?"
Ben--you're exactly right, thanks!
VG--thanks so much!
Cathy--thank you!
Kat--it really is delicious.
Eating Club--one thing I noticed--there are toms of versions of this sauce.
Nikki--those noodles were from a little Italian deli in Boston's North End. They were like 2 feet long!
Beth--yep--the kid's did like it! Thanks!
Adam--we DO love garlic. And yes! FB season will be here before we know it! Woohoo!
Bunny--I agree. If the family doesn't like it, why make it?
Lisa--thanks so much! It's one of our faves now, too.
Garrett--you're totally right! Thousands of different versions of everything out there, and we're supposed to settle on one? How boring would that be?
Grace--it would be, yes!
Amy--thanks!
Diva--yes, we all have garlic breath at the same time, so it's all ok, hehe.
RG--thank you! It definitely makes a nice dinner.
Great way to sneak in the veggies! Even though I'm not too picky of a kiddo anymore, I still find myself wanting to sneak in the veggies...you can never have too many! And hey, the great thing about recipes is that you can create your own traditions with 'em :).
Great looking pasta dish! Do ya like it? Then who cares if it's authentic or not!
I have a huge stack of back issues of Cooking Light, and a Cooking Light cookbook that I refer to time and again. Their recipes are keepers!
Oh yum! I cannot wait until my hubby is off that South Beach Diet (he’s not the only one starting to get a little cranky)! I have tried to be supportive and not cook things he can’t eat (pasta! potatoes! fresh bread!) and looking at all that lovely pasta has made me quite hungry for it. It is probably good that I don’t live in your neighborhood, because I would be dropping some serious hints about being invited for dinner! That sauce looks delish!
:) i always do mine with some indonesian and chinese influence...hey...as long as they are delicious, right? ;)
yours look absolutely gorgeousss!!
Hi Elle, it looks divine & sounds yummy!...happy to be back in the land of wiif again & keep up to date with the world!! Fiona
Looks so good Elle. I am always interested in people's Bolognese recipes. Everyone has their way of doing it don't they?. This looks so yummy
xxx
That spaghetti sauce looks so good that I am trying to climb through my computer screen to get to it. Fortunately, my giant saddlebags prevent this....my computer is safe....
I'm one that doesn't care if a recipe is authentic - as long as it is delicious! And I agree - garlic makes everything better!
That bolognese looksreally good!
Yummy looking ragu! You are still my hero for whipping up such great meals with 4 kids at home!:) I am sure things will be easier when they are at school. I can't wait for my daughter to start kindergarten:)
I love making pasta sauce, authentic or not! It makes the whole place smell so good, it's easy to have everyone sit down for dinner. :)
That looks so good.. Lunchtime is looming here.. I'm thinking of getting some pasta now.. Gonna try that recipe of yours soon.. I did a cooking light dish last night, it was unbelievable :)