What is Bolognese? All Your Questions Answered and a New Recipe
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This post is a NEW Bolognese recipe, and answers below to all your questions about what is bolognese.
We absolutely love bolognese, an Italian meat sauce that is cooked very slow on low heat for several hours.
Served with tagliatelle or paparadelle, (wide flat egg noodles), it is the comfort food of all comfort foods. In our house, it disappears fast, and this particular pot of bolognese got rave reviews from the twins who ate bolognese all over Italy. My Homemade Pasta recipe is here.
This is almost the same recipe as this authentic bolognese recipe from Marcella Hazan. It’s still begins with carrots, onion and celery, but we really caramelize the soffrito in this recipe. It still contains milk and white wine, (not red), but everything is added in a different order.
Pancetta is an important ingredient. It isn’t something I can always easily find in my area, and I decided to add my own twist by adding peppered uncured salami from Boar’s Head. This might seem odd, but once chopped very find, and fried, it nearly disappears into the sauce, but not without leaving an added layer of flavor. Did I lose you? I hope not.
Another thing I added to this was chicken stock. You could also use beef stock. The stock helps to thin the bolognese out when it gets too thick, keeping in mind that it has a small amount of tomato sauce and can dry out.
Bolognese can be used for other recipes such as lasagna, crepes, polenta or risotto.
What is Bolognese?
Bolognese is a meat sauce, simmered for hours, made with, soffritto, ground meat, milk, wine and and little bit of tomato. My new recipe adds chicken broth. Additionally you can add pancetta and a dash of nutmeg.
What Kind of Pot Should I Cook Bolognese?
A heavy pot that retains heat, like an enameled cast iron. My favorite is this pot from Le Creuset.
What Meat Should I Use for Bolognese?
You have options here. The best cut of beef is ground chuck, but you can certainly mix ground pork and beef or veal and beef. If you use pork, use 2 parts beef, 1 part pork and make it a fatty pork. All of these combinations work. I would not use ground turkey or ground chicken.
How Long Should I Cook Bolognese?
Cook bolognese on the lowest heat for a long time, no less than 3 hours, making sure it does not dry out. You can use broth or a little water as needed.
Can You Make Bolognese in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, but first you must cook the ingredients on top of the stove. Once you are at the final step and ready to simmer for hours, you can transport your bolognese to a slow cooker. Cook on very low for as long as 6-8 hours if you have the time.
Do You Need to Use Wine in Bolognese?
Wine is one of the main components to push flavor in bolognese. Keep in mind that the alcohol will burn off. If you want to skip the wine, add a tablespoon of white vinegar to the sauce, once you are ready to simmer, and replace the amount of liquid with more broth. Use white wine not red wine which brings a brightness to the dish.
Is Milk Necessary in Bolognese?
Milk is one of the main ingredients of bolognese as it breaks down the connective tissues of the ground beef and acts as a tenderizer. If you do skip, use a very fatty ground beef, or a combination of beef and veal. If you are using veal, use less milk.
Can I Make Bolognese without Tomatoes?
Yes, it’s actually called White Bolognese. We had white bolognese in Montepulciano. The recipe will include the soffritto (carrots, onion, celery) white wine, chicken stock, butter and heavy cream. I plan on making a recipe soon.
What Pasta Goes Best with Bolognese?
The typical pasta for bolognese is tagliatelle, or paparadelle. Make sure you use a bronze cut pasta if store-bought. You can also use a rigatoni macaroni.
What Wine Pairs well with Bolognese?
Although, I use only white wine in the sauce, we drink red wine with the meal. We like a good rich red like Chianti Classico or Sangiovese. Cabernet works well too.
Should Cheese Be Added?
There are no shoulds when it comes to grated cheese, except that either pecorino romano or parmesan should be freshly grated at the table. We like Pecorino best; it’s tangy and salty.
Can You Freeze Bolognese?
Yes, so make a double batch and freeze up to three months.
Is Bolognese Really Italian?
Bolognese comes from Bologna and is served throughout Italy. We ate bolognese in Rome, Lucca and White Bolognese in Montepulciano.
What’s the Difference between Bolognese and Ragu?
Some will say no difference. I differentiate ragu from bolognese in my recipes from the time it takes to cook. For example, my sausage ragû is a meat sauce that I make quickly.
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Variations on Bolognese
- Peach and Pork Bolognese
- Spaghetti Bolognese with Pork
- Italinan Sloppy Joe’s Bolognese
- Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese
New Red Bolognese Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 tablespoons butter plus 2 T for tossing pasta
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 2 pounds ground beef chuck mixed with salt and pepper before cooking
- 8 ounces pancetta See notes
- black pepper freshly ground
- salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
- 2 cup dry white wine
- 3 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes with juice chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock more as needed
- freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table
Instructions
- On medium heat, add oil, butter, onion, until translucent.
- Add celery, carrots and cook on low until all is caramelized. This will add a lot of flavor. Once cooked, remove to a bowl. Set aside.
- In the pot you will be making the bolognese, cook meat. Sautè chopped pancetta or peppered salami. Salt meat. Add ground meat and satue Sautè meat separately until cooked completely.
- Add milk until cooked through on low about 10 minutes.
- Add nutmeg.
- Add the vegetables and mix through.
- Add the white wine and cook for about 10 minutes until alcohol is cooked off.
- Add the tomatoes, crushed with your hands.
- Add chicken stock. Cook on low for 3 hours and add more stock as necessary.
Notes
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