Pasta Bolognese

Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell

Show: Secrets of a Restaurant ChefEpisode: The Secret to Pasta Bolognese

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (287)

Cook Time:
4 hr 30 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 to 8 servings

Times:

Prep: 45 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 4 hr 30 min
Total:: 5 hr 15 min

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Ingredients

1 large onion or 2 small, cut into 1-inch dice
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 ribs celery, cut into 1-inch dice
4 cloves garlic
Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
Kosher salt
3 pounds ground chuck, brisket or round or combination
2 cups tomato paste
3 cups hearty red wine
Water
3 bay leaves
1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
High quality extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing

Directions

In a food processor, puree onion, carrots, celery, and garlic into a coarse paste. In a large pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the pureed veggies and season generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and cook until all the water has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently, about 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient, this is where the big flavors develop.

Add the ground beef and season again generously with salt. BROWN THE BEEF! Brown food tastes good. Don't rush this step. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook until brown about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, another 4 to 5 minutes.

Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves and the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2 to 3 cups at a time. Don't be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out. This is a game of reduce and add more water. This is where big rich flavors develop. If you try to add all the water in the beginning you will have boiled meat sauce rather than a rich, thick meaty sauce. Stir and TASTE frequently. Season with salt, if needed (you probably will). Simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the spaghetti. Pasta water should ALWAYS be well salted. Salty as the ocean! TASTE IT! If your pasta water is under seasoned it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. When the water is at a rolling boil add the spaghetti and cook for 1 minute less than it calls for on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.

Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the remaining ragu. Stir or toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Add some of the reserved sauce, if needed, to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and cook the pasta and sauce together over a medium heat until the water has reduced. Turn off the heat and give a big sprinkle of Parmigiano and a generous drizzle of the high quality finishing olive oil. Toss or stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls or 1 big pasta bowl. Top with remaining grated Parmigiano. Serve immediately.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Pasta Bolognese
Louis Livingston, NJ 02-07-2010
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The best
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and I got up early to make this sauce again. It's almost done simmering. The flavors are amazing. ... Rich and complex. I make the following changes to suit personal taste: use 1 lb each of beef, lamb and veal (which I grind myself), add a can of evaporated milk and cooked out the liquid before adding the wine; use white wine (chardonnay) instead of red. This is absolutely the best sauce I have ever tasted, at a home or in a restaurant. My kids absolutely love it, as does anybody else who has tasted it. Anne is totally correct that browning at each step (vegetables, meat, tomatoes) is the key to developing the flavors (together with the long simmering). My favorite sauce to make when I have several hours to spare.Read more
recipe Pasta Bolognese
susan lexington, KY 02-06-2010
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Wonderful!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Loving to cook, I got up last Saturday morning to a ton of snow so, out came the saute pan and all ingredients. I started on... my labor of love. What an awsome sauce! I will be repeating this one for sure. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe. Happy cooking! Susan Read more
recipe Pasta Bolognese
Kara Valley City, OH 01-30-2010
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Fantastic! Always a HUGE hit.
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have made this bolognese many times and it always turns out wonderfuly. It is rich and satisfying... a great marriage of... wine, beef & tomatoes. I serve this dish at dinner parties and it is always a huge hit. Everyone asks for the recipe and there are never any leftovers. I always make it early in day so that I have a lot of time to cook... very slowly to give the flavors time to meld. It does take a lot of time, but it is not labor intensive at all. (I live in Ohio, so a slow cooked dish on a cold winters day is very comforting). I disagree that the dish is acidic. I recommed that you use a good quality wine and a good quality tomato paste to avoid an acidic sauce. A good tomato paste will give you a rich dish, not an acid one. And the wine is probably the key... and acidic or sour wine will give you a bad end result as well. Use a wine that you like to drink as the flavor will be concentrated in your ragu. I also recommend that you do not rush this dish. Long, slow cooking is the key to rich flavor. I serve this bolognese with homemade or fresh pasta. It makes the end result even more decedant. For the reviewer that said something like... 3# of ground beef for 1# of pasta is nuts"... double check your recipe. The recipes states "remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve... add some of the reserved sauce, if needed". Basically 1/2 fo the recipe for 1# of pasta. I almost never follow recipes to a "T", but I do not deviate from this recipe. This recipe it s keeper... it is terrific!!! Thanks Anne!!Read more
recipe Pasta Bolognese
Jared weymouth, MA 01-25-2010
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me
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this for dinner, tonite and it is delicious! I do think its a bit salty but other wise so yummy! It fulfilled my... craving for good pasta bolognese!!!!Read more
recipe Pasta Bolognese
albertine westbury, NY 01-24-2010
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NYE was a hit!!!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

For my very first dinner party of 15 on NYE, I made this meal ! It was challenging, but worth it!! I wanted to make a crowd... pleaser and this was it!!!! I read the reviews prior and found the comments felt it was fantastic but either too acidic or the wine was too overpowering. The ratings show it's a great recipe but from some of the negative comments I thought this could be a huge disaster as well. So to be safe, I decided to tweak the recipe and it was perfect. I doubled the recipe by the way and it worked fine, I would just suggest using the widest pot you can find. I used one that covered two burners. It's more important that it is wide than tall so there is more surface area to "brown" everything. For wine, I used a smooth, dry, chianti which is what the owner of the liquor store suggested. I would suggest it too b/c it was perfect! To help the acidity and overwhelming wine taste i substituted 1/4 of wine with crushed tomatoes. Also when adding the water i used half beef stock. I thought this would help the flavors and level out the acidity. To say the least it was a hit! One friend who even has terrible acid problems absolutely loved it! Even a vegetarian and one of the pickiest eaters ever ate it! I didn't even have enough for left overs b/c everyone took some home. If your not sure, make it! Thanks Anne, I will make this forever!!! -Albertine, East Meadow, NYRead more
recipe Pasta Bolognese
Mark Laconia, NH 01-18-2010
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Great rich taste!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I really like making this sauce and my wife and I thoroughly enjoy it every time I do. We usually end up eating it 2 or 3... times as I always make too much and usually freeze a lot of it fo future use,I seems to get better with time!Read more