Name: Ragù Bolognese
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons butter; 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped; 2 small celery ribs, finely diced; 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced; 2 ounces prosciutto di Parma, finely chopped; ¾ pound ground beef chuck; ¾ pound ground pork; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; ½ whole nutmeg, finely grated; ½ cup dry white wine; 1 cup whole milk, hot; One 28-ounce can tomato purée; 1 cup chicken or beef stock

Bolognese with tagliatelle topped with Parmesan on a white serving dish with silver forks.

Photo by Christopher Hirsheimer

Like many long-simmered sauces, this one, perhaps the most delicious of all the Italian meat sauces, is more flavorful and balanced the following day.

Cook's Note: Deconstructed Lasagna Bolognese

Sometimes we defrost a batch of Ragù Bolognese and a few frozen sheets of fresh pasta stashed in the back of the freezer to make some loose ravioli. All that is left to do is to whip up some Besciamella and grate a little Parmigiano-Reggiano. Then, before we can say “How about a deconstructed lasagne bolognese?” we are sitting down to the best lunch in town (if we do say so ourselves).

Recipe notes

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