The best pasta Bolognese

Votes: 1

Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
Complexity: easily
Servings: 6 - 8

Nutritional value per serving:

Calories 610, total fat 31 G., saturated fats 11 G., proteins 29 G., carbohydrates 45 G., fiber 2 G., cholesterol 121 mg, sodium 914 mg, sugar 8 G.

This Bolognese sauce is very thick and rich, yet contains very little tomato paste. Some of it is replaced with the classic combination of white wine and milk. The combination of ground pork and beef with fried pancetta gives the sauce a rich flavor—something you can't achieve with just one type of meat. Another key ingredient is Parmesan rind. Don't skip this step, and you'll see the difference it makes. If you have homemade chicken broth on hand, use it in the sauce; otherwise, simply substitute it with water and avoid the hassle of buying store-bought broth.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

350 g of ground beef
350 g of minced pork
2 tbsp. l. olive oil
110 g pancetta, cut into 0.3 cm pieces.
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
2 large stalks celery, cut into 0.3cm pieces.
1 large carrot, cut into 0.3cm pieces.
1 medium onion, cut into 0.3 cm pieces.
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 can (170 g) of tomato paste
1 and 2/3 cups dry white wine
2 cups homemade chicken broth or water
2 cups of milk
1 large rind of Parmesan cheese
450 g fresh tagliatelle or pappardelle pasta, or dried rigatoni pasta
Grated Parmesan, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

We recommend

Recipes with similar ingredients: ground beef, minced pork, pappardelle pasta, rigatoni pasta, celery, carrot, Parmesan cheese, milk, white wine, bay leaf, nutmeg, pancetta

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Combine ground beef and pork in a large bowl. Fluff the ground beef with two forks, breaking up any lumps without compacting the meat. Continue fluffing until there are no lumps left.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is golden brown, 4-6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to a large bowl, discarding the fat in the pan.

Spread half the ground meat in an even layer in the pan and cook, undisturbed, until lightly golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Stir and continue cooking, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spoon and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the meat is browned on all sides, another 1-2 minutes. Transfer the browned meat with a slotted spoon to the bowl with the pancetta, reserving the fat in the pan. Repeat with the remaining ground meat.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaf, nutmeg, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until brick-red in color, about 2 minutes. Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened and the alcohol aroma disappears, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the broth, milk, and browned meat.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Add the Parmesan rind and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has thickened, 2 to 2.5 hours. The sauce should not boil rapidly during cooking; small bubbles should be released occasionally. If you have a small burner, cook on that; on larger burners, even at the lowest heat, the sauce may simmer vigorously. If the sauce thickens too quickly, add 1/2 cup of broth or water and continue simmering; add more liquid if needed. The sauce should simmer for a full 2 hours to allow the flavors to develop well.
Remove the bay leaf and Parmesan rind from the meat sauce. Break up the remaining pieces of meat with the back of a spoon until the sauce is smooth. Season with salt to taste and keep warm.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta. If using fresh pasta, cook it for about 3 minutes. If using dried pasta, cook it until just firm to al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions.
Set aside 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, drain the remaining water, and transfer the pasta to the sauce. Increase the heat to medium, bring the sauce to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened slightly, adding more of the cooking water if necessary, about 2 minutes.
Transfer the pasta to a serving dish and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.