Prep 30 min
Cook 2–3 hr
Serves 4–6
Difficulty Medium
Cuisine Italian

Bolognese is one of the most discussed recipes on the internet, and a lot of recipes that claim to be authentic actually are — even in Italy, there's enormous variance from one ragù to another. In Bologna specifically, the sauce changes from one nonna's kitchen to the next. I met a woman who puts milk in hers, and another who adds a small piece of dark chocolate at the end. Both were extraordinary.

There are, however, things that clearly don't come from Bologna. The biggest one is olive oil — historically this was an ingredient of southern Italy. In the north, the fat has always been animal fat: strutto (rendered pork fat, essentially lard) or butter. This is not a health consideration. It's a flavour one.

I like to buy beef shoulder (chuck) at 85% lean so I can control the fat by adding strutto separately. If you're avoiding pork, duck fat works beautifully, or you can increase the fat content of your chuck with beef tallow. The ratio matters: fat is not the enemy here, it's the medium through which all the flavour is carried.

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Ingredients Serves 4–6

  • 1 kg ground beef shoulder (85% lean)
  • 560 g tomato passata
  • 500 g soffritto: 250 g onion, 125 g carrot, 125 g celery
  • 200 g strutto (lardo) — sub duck fat or beef tallow if avoiding pork
  • 1.5 cups red wine
  • Parmigiano Reggiano to serve (18-month aged or your preferred age)

Instructions

  1. Melt the strutto. Add the strutto to a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat and let it melt slowly. You want it fully liquid and beginning to shimmer before anything else goes in. This is your cooking medium for everything that follows.

  2. Process the soffritto. Blitz the onion, carrot, and celery together in a food processor until very finely chopped — almost a paste. You want them soft enough that they'll melt completely into the sauce over time, not leave visible chunks. This is one of the biggest differences between a good bolognese and a great one.

  3. Sauté the soffritto. Add the processed soffritto to the melted strutto over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water fully evaporates and the vegetables begin to soften and turn translucent — around 10–12 minutes. Don't rush this. The soffritto needs to lose its moisture before the meat goes in, otherwise you'll steam the meat instead of browning it.

  4. Add and cook the meat. Add the ground beef and stir to break it up evenly. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the meat is mostly cooked through and the water it releases has evaporated. It's fine — good, even — if you start to see a little browning on the bottom of the pot. That's flavour developing. Don't work too hard to prevent it.

  5. Deglaze with red wine. Pour in the red wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat slightly and cook until the sharp smell of alcohol is gone — you'll still smell the wine, but it should smell like wine, not like spirits. This typically takes 5–8 minutes. Don't skip this step; uncooked alcohol has a harshness that carries into the finished sauce.

  6. Add the passata and simmer. Add the tomato passata, stir to combine, and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover, and cook for 2–3 hours, stirring every 20–30 minutes. Add a splash of water if the sauce thickens too much — you want it rich but not tight. The longer it goes, the deeper the flavour. At 2 hours it's good. At 3 it's different.

  7. Serve. Toss with fresh egg pasta — tagliatelle is traditional, and the right width to hold the sauce. Finish with a generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano grated directly over the top. The sauce should coat the pasta, not drown it.