Ragù alla bolognese

I was on a search for the best, most tasty, but also authentic, bolognese sauce. After trying many, I realised I don't like the authentic ones. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Sorry. So I went all in on flavour. My ex-husband used to talk about flavour cheats - bacon, anchovies, parmesan, cream, salt - and this recipe hits as many as possible, shamelessly. This makes a huge quantity, so there will be some left over for the freezer.

Ingredients

  • 2 tblsp olive oil
  • 2 tblsp butter
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • basil stalks, chopped
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 150g pancetta or bacon lardons
  • 4 anchovy filets
  • 250g pork mince
  • 250g beef mince
  • 250ml passata
  • 2x 440g tins of whole tomatoes
  • 1/2 tin of water (slosh around the can to lift all the tomato juice)
  • 1/2 tin red wine
  • 1 tblsp tomato puree
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • 1 vege stock cube
  • 1 tblsp honey (if using tinned tomatoes, always add sugar to balance out the bitterness and round out the flavour)
  • 1 tblsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp flakey salt
  • pepper
  • 200g mushrooms (I like to chop these up really small)
  • 130g kalamata olives, pitted and chopped small
  • basil leaves, chopped
  • parmesan (measure with your heart)

Method

  1. Prepare all the ingredients, chopping and so on.

  2. Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and basil stalks. Cook until soft but not browned - 10 to 15 minutes.

  3. Make a well in the middle of the pot and add the anchovies. Mush them up so that they dissolve into the fat. Add the pancetta and cook for a few more minutes.

  4. Add both kinds of mince and cook until browned.

  5. Add the passata, tins of tomatoes, water, red wine, tomato puree, oregano, stock cube, honey, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Stir well.

  6. Simmer very gently for 1 hour with the lid on.

  7. Add the mushrooms and olives. Cook with the lid off for 30 minutes. Reduce until the sauce is thick, like really thick.

  8. Cook the pasta (I like rigatoni). Drain, reserving some of the liquid. Tip the pasta back into the pasta pot. Spoon some of the sauce over the pasta, and add the parmesan and basil leaves. Splash some pasta water on top to help the cheese melt and mix well. Serve with more parmesan to sprinkle on top.

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