Bolognese Meat Ragù
Traditional meat ragù recipe. One thing that can never be missing in our home is meat ragù.
You could say that I, from childhood, grew up on bread and ragù. Yes, you heard right — not “pasta and ragù” but bread and ragù.
This is because my favorite way to enjoy it was to take a big ladle from the pot and pour it over a michetta (a typical small roll hollow inside). The recipe I follow is a family recipe passed down for generations and it came to me directly from my mother Titti
Not that I’m biased, but friends of mine and my son’s friends every time they taste it say it’s amazing: thick, creamy, enveloping and flavorful. It’s excellent on any type of pasta: tagliatelle, pappardelle, ravioli.
Perfect for preparing baked lasagna or you can do like me — put a generous ladle of ragù on a piece of bread and bite into it… a true delight for the palate!
It’s very simple to prepare; you just need a bit of patience for the cooking time, but once it’s ready you’ll be rewarded. Now enough chatting — the ragù is waiting for us!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 3 Hours
- Portions: about 15 servings
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredienti
- 1.1 lb ground beef
- 2 tomato paste (tubes)
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 leaves bay leaves
- 1 glass red wine
- 2 whole cloves (spice)
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 bouillon cubes
Preparazione
First, prepare the vegetables for the soffritto.
Clean the onion, the celery stalk, the carrot and the garlic clove and chop them in a food processor together with the rosemary.
Meanwhile, brown the ground meat in a pot with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.
After that time, add the red wine and let it evaporate over high heat.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pot together with the bay leaves and the whole cloves.
Continue to brown the meat over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Then add a heaping tablespoon of flour, 2 tubes of tomato paste, 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes, 2 vegetable bouillon cubes and about 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) of water.
Stir well with a wooden spoon.
Move the pot to low heat and, keeping it covered, let it simmer on the lowest setting for at least 3 hours.
When it is ready you’ll see rings of oil forming on the surface of the tomato.
Turn off the heat.
Notes
TIPS
Consider that with the quantities indicated in the recipe you will obtain enough ragù to dress at least 15 servings of pasta.
If you don’t use it immediately, put it right away into jars with airtight lids. If you put the ragù into the jars while it is still hot and close them with the lids upside down, a vacuum will form automatically.
Ragù can be safely frozen without losing its flavor.
Once prepared, divide it into several glass jars and then freeze them.
Besides dressing pasta, it is ideal for preparing baked lasagna with béchamel sauce.
