Bolognese ragù

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This is perhaps Bologna's most famous recipe. Unlike spaghetti bolognese recipes found in the US and UK, and tourist traps in Italy, this is not a tomato sauce: the tomato purée in the recipe is merely intended to add a bit of depth of colour to the meat sauce.

Ingredients

Other meats can also be used for this recipe, including veal, venison, or horse — the latter of which is quite popular in Northern Italy, and a common sight in supermarkets in Emilia-Romagna. Serve with an egg pasta like tagliatelle or tortellini.

• 500 millilitres chicken stock,
• 400 grams minced beef,
• 400 grams minced pork,
• 50 grams diced pancetta,
• 50 millilitres whole milk,
• Three or four small ox-tail segments,
• Two heaped teaspoons tomato purée,
• Two bay leaves and a bouquet of sweet herbs: rosemary, thyme, oregano, for example,
• One stick of celery,
• One small carrot,
• One small white onion,
• One knob of butter or lard,
• One small glass dry red wine,
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Method

Dice the celery, carrot, and onion, and fry gently in the animal fat for ten minutes until all moisture is driven off and the vegetables start to colour. Add the diced pancetta and ox-tails and continue to fry gently until both also colour, then gradually add the minced meats, until cooked through. Add the tomato purée stirring throughout the meat until the paste is evenly distributed throughout and allow to cook out for a minute more. Add the red wine and cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol, then add the stock and herbs, and gently simmer for two hours — at least — and until greatly reduced. Finish by removing the bay leaf and bouquet of herbs, adjusting seasoning, and stirring in the whole milk.