Marcella Hazan, in her inimitable fashion, offers the home cook an authentic Bolognese sauce recipe, the traditional kind an Italian grandmother would approve of, thank you very much.
This is my version of her recipe, found in her cookbook, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, with very subtle tweaks. It takes a while to make, although most of the time the Bolognese is spent simmering, unattended, on the back burner except for occasionally making lazy eights with a wooden spoon.
☞ Read the Article: In Defense of Grandmother Cooking
Bolognese Sauce FAQs
In essence, Bolognese sauce is spaghetti sauce. Though it’s no ordinary meat sauce. It’s a long, slowly simmered sauce that’s richer and creamier than your everyday marinara due to the inclusion of milk. It also is less predominated by tomatoes than your typical marinara. It’s named for its city of origin, Bologna.
Believe it or not, traditional Bolognese contains none of the aromatic herbs or spices that many consider necessary in all Italian dishes. You may be tempted to add them, but do your best to resist. The nutmeg is a must – don’t leave that out.
Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 tablespoons (4 oz) unsalted butter, divided
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 1/3 cups chopped celery
- 1 1/3 cups chopped carrot
- 1 pound ground chuck, (I used 1/2 pound chuck and 1/2 pound veal)
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or a pinch of ground nutmeg
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 3 cups canned imported San Marzano tomatoes, (Italian plum tomatoes) with their juice
- As much pasta as you wish (Marcella prefers tagliatelle), cooked and drained
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, at the table
Instructions
- In a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, warm the oil and 6 tablespoons butter until the butter melts and stops foaming. Toss in the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened and translucent, about ⏲ 5 minutes.
- Toss in the celery and carrot and cook, stirring to coat them with the oil and butter, for ⏲ 2 minutes.
- Add the chuck and pork, a very healthy pinch of salt, and a goodly amount of pepper. Crumble the meat with a wooden spoon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meats have just lost their raw-red color.
- Reduce the heat to low. Pour in the milk and simmer gently, stirring frequently, until the liquid has completely evaporated, ⏲ about 1 hour.
- Stir in the nutmeg. Pour in the wine and gently simmer, stirring frequently, until it's evaporated, about ⏲ 1 1/4 hours more.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. When the sauce begins to bubble, turn down the heat so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers with just an intermittent bubble breaking the surface.
- Cook, uncovered, for ⏲ 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is burbling away, there's a chance that it'll start drying out. To keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot and scorching, add 1/2 cup water if necessary, just know that it's crucial that by the time the sauce has finished simmering, the water should be completely evaporated, and the fat should separate from the sauce.
- Taste a spoonful—or two—of sauce and season with salt and some good grindings of pepper to taste. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the hot pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.
Notes
What You Need To Know About Making The Most Classic Italian Bolognese
Following are some techniques and tricks to ensure the most classic Italian Bolognese:- The more marbled the meat, the sweeter the ragu. (The most desirable cut of meat is the neck portion of the chuck. You may have to special order it from your butcher.)
- It’s important to salt the meat as soon as it hits the pan. This draws out the juices and imparts flavor to the Bolognese.
- Use a heavy pot that will retain heat. I use my Le Creuset 5-quart Dutch oven. Avoid using cast-iron, as the acid can interact with the metal and turn the sauce a blech color.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is the perfect recipe to make if you’re stuck in the house doing chores and can’t leave. A little prep work and a little stir every now and then gives you a wonderful smell throughout your house and a nice, thick sauce for your pasta. I love that there isn’t a strong tomato taste to this sauce, unlike most commercial jar sauces. This is pure, hearty, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food.
All you need is some warm bread and you have a meal. The next time I make it I’ll probably omit the oil, as I felt there was a little too much oil floating on top when it was ready to serve.
Dear David
I found this recipe with relief. I’ve cooked it several times over the years but not for a while. My original copy of Marcella’s book was collateral damage in a messy relationship breakup (long story), so I wrote it out from memory and stored it on my pc. Or so I thought. When I looked today, vanished. doncha just love technology… Anyway, I just wanted to check the quantities.
It is the most divine dish. It tastes most of one thing: love. You follow the method, you get lost in the process, the flavours are to die for, the taste sublime. So thank you for sharing. (btw i’d prefer to sing the whole of Oklahoma, but that’s just me).
I will pick you up on one point. You’ve edited out one of my favourite details. When you’ve finally finished adding things, you leave the pot to simmer. Marcela is very precise here: she insists you set your ring to the lowest heat to ensure that THERE ARE NO MORE THAN THREE BUBBLES BREAKING THE SURFACE.
It’s unbelievably precise and off-the-scale controlling, but god it’s a good tip.
Anyway, off to get my ingredients
Ciao bello. And thanks.
Richard
Richard, well, I’m glad you’re back with the recipe. The version of the book I have says, “…with just an intermittent bubble breaking through the surface.” Which was so specific, I kept it in above. Three bubbles! How extraordinarily precise.
To David Leite: Before our entire class entered medical school, we had to take the MMPI, which is a personality test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test. We had to score high on the obsessive compulsive neurosis portion or we could not get into med school. Therefore, from now on, its only rigatoni, conchiglie, fusilli or tagliatelle. If I’m forced to use any other pasta shape, I will likely have a panic attack.
And the good thing, Stu, is you can write yourself a prescription for Xanax.
I always served it on spaghetti and it did not stick well. So, now I know why. From now on it’s on a wider flatter noodle for the adults.
I actually like to serve my Italian sauces dishes with rotini because my 5 little grand kids can more easily get the sauce and noodle onto their spoons and forks.
Paul must be one heck of an obsessive compulsive individual…in a good way. If something should be done in a certain way then it should be done that way.
That’s the reason why, Stu. Chunky sauces slide off of thin noodles. They need pasta shapes that can hold the little bits of veggies or meat. Rigatoni, conchiglie, and fusilli are also Marcella’s recommendations.
And we love OCD folks. They keep us on our toes!