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Italian Bolognese Sauce Recipe
My Italian Bolognese sauce combines ground chuck, sweet Italian sausage, finely chopped vegetables, tomatoes, and a slow simmer for a hearty ragù. A finishing touch of cream and Romano cheese gives it a rich, satisfying flavor.
Prep
30 min
Cook
4h 30m
Total
5h
Serves
16
Instructions
- 01
Use a food processor to finely chop the celery, onion, and carrots
- 02
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Then add onion, carrots, and celery, and sauté until the veggies begin to caramelize (about 6 - 8 minutes).
- 03
Add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- 04
Remove the cooked vegetables (soffritto) from the pot and save until needed.
- 05
Add the olive oil and ground beef to the pot. Season with sea salt and black pepper and cook for about 10 minutes until the meat browns. Don't be tempted to continually stir and break up the meat. Allow it to get brown well, caramelizing some of the natural sugars in the meat. When the ground beef is fully cooked break up the meat with a wire whip and remove it from the pan.Repeat this process with the sausage meat. Add more olive oil if needed.When cooking is complete add the cooked beef back into the pot.
- 06
Add the red wine to the hot pot. It will deglaze the pan, releasing all the browned bits stuck to the bottom. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a large spoon to help get all the stuck bits loose.
- 07
Return the reserved soffritto to the pot, mix well and allow to cook for 5 minutes.
- 08
Add the crushed tomatoes, milk, basil and parsley, mixing well. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. *If you want to add the nutmeg this is the time to do it. Traditionally nutmeg is added, but its a flavor I've never enjoyed or included in my Bolognese sauce.
- 09
Reduce heat and simmer for 3 to 4 hours.
- 10
Stir in heavy cream and Romano cheese, mix well to incorporate the cream and cheese into the sauce. If the sauce is too thick you can add a little water, red wine or milk to thin it out.
- 11
Re-season with sea salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste.
- 12
Serve with your favorite wide noodle pasta, I used Pappardelle.
Nutrition
per serving · 1 serving
- Calories
- 358
- Protein
- 13g
- Carbs
- 10g
- Fat
- 29g
- Fiber
- 2g
- Sugar
- 6g
- Sat. fat
- 13g
- Sodium
- 803mg
- Cholesterol
- 81mg
Variations & swaps
Ingredient Substitutions
- I recommend making the original recipe first so you can appreciate how the beef, sausage, tomatoes, and dairy work together. If you need to substitute an ingredient, these are reasonable alternatives, although they haven’t been tested as part of the published version.
- Ground chuck: Leaner ground beef can be used, but it will make a less rich sauce.
- Italian sausage: Plain ground pork offers a milder flavor without the sausage seasonings.
- Red wine: Dry white wine will give a different, lighter flavor. To omit alcohol, use a little unsalted broth or water to deglaze the pan.
- Plum tomatoes: Use good-quality canned whole peeled or crushed plum tomatoes when San Marzano tomatoes aren’t available.
- Romano cheese: Parmesan is a milder substitute. Taste before adding extra salt.
Bolognese Sauce Variations
- Different meat combinations create a different sauce, so think of these as optional, untested variations rather than changes to my published recipe.
- Ground poultry: Ground turkey or chicken can replace the beef and sausage for a milder, leaner version. Brown carefully to avoid drying it out, and cook ground poultry to 165°F.
- Beef and veal: Replacing some of the sausage with ground veal produces a more delicate meat flavor. The seasoning and richness will differ from the original.
- The next step is combining the cooked meats with the soffrito. Mix the ingredients together thoroughly. Add the tomatoes and milk to the pan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 3-4 hours.
- After the sauce has simmered for at least 3 hours, you’ll find that it has thickened.
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