The official recipe for Ragù alla Bolognese

[di reston]

I was very interested to read the discussion on meat 'sauces' for pasta, many of which get called 'Bolognese'.

There are hundreds and hundreds of different ragù recipes, for all different types of pasta - I am doing a study of this subject right at the moment - and all are interesting and mouth-watering.

Of course, the most famous is 'La Bolognese', which ranks alongside 'La Genovese', 'La Barese', and 'La Napoletana'.

On 17 October 1982, the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, which is part of the Italian Chambers of Commerce, registered the authentic Bolognese Sauce recipe, which is as follows:


Accademia Italiana della Cucina/Ragù alla Bolognese


No. servings: 6

Region of origin: Emilia Romagna

Recipe Category: Sauces and stews

Ingredients:

300g topside (or skirt, shoulder, or shin),coarse ground 20%fat, 150g Italian pancetta, 50g carrot, 50g stick of celery, 50g onion, 300g Italian tomato passata or Italian peeled plum tomatoes, 1/2 glass dry white wine, 1/2 glass milk (where one glass = 200ml), beef stock preferably homemade,olive oil or butter, 1/2 glass single cream (optional).

Procedure:

Cut the pancetta into small cubes and then cook it gently in a 20cm terracotta braising pot (traditional Italian) or a 20cm, thick-bottomed sauce pan) so as to render the fat out of it. Add the oil/butter and the soffritto of carrot/celery/onion and soften until it's lightly browned. Then add the ground beef and mix the ingredients well. Stir until well mixed and lightly browned and sizzling. Deglaze with the wine, and stir until completely evaporated. Then add the peeled plum tomatoes or passata, stir well and cover and put to simmer adding water/ stock as necessary to avoid the ragù drying out too much. Add the milk (to taste and to balance the acidity) towards the end of cooking.

The custom in Bologna is to add the cream only if you're using dried pasta. With fresh pasta it isn't necessary, so leave it out.

The above is the updated recipe of the authentic Ragù alla Bolognese, registered with the Italian Academy of Gastronomy, Chamber of Commerce
of Bologna on 17th October 1982.

Note: When fresh tomatoes are in season, they are much better than preserved ones. NEVER add sugar. There should be enough sugar in the tomatoes.

My research on Italian ragù's has reached well over 250 so far, and still going!

One golden rule: NEVER use spaghetti with meat ragù, ONLY EVER with fish ragù's.

If you would like the recipe for making your own tomato purèe, please reply to this thread.

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

Ciao ciao

di reston

[tenspeed]

Thank you for posting this. I investigated a little further and landed on the itchefs-gvci web site. Here's their recipe, which includes some cooking times:

The Classic Bolognese Ragù according the Accademia Italiana della Cucina

They have a couple more variations of ragu, including a recipe tailored for us non-Italians:

Pasta

I love Italian food!

[CraigC]

Classic, traditional and authentic are words I tend to stay away from when dealing with food origins. You know the saying about "a different recipe/version for every grandmother". So, they discount all other recipes before 10-17-82 and claim this as the "official" one? Oaky doaky then.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by di reston

...Note: When fresh tomatoes are in season, they are much better than preserved ones. NEVER add sugar. There should be enough sugar in the tomatoes....

One golden rule: NEVER use spaghetti with meat ragù, ONLY EVER with fish rage's...

Thank you for posting this.

I also never add sugar. If the tomatoes are not sweet enough, I add some tomato paste.

OK, "NEVER use spaghetti". Then which pasta is appropriate for this sauce?

[tenspeed]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

OK, "NEVER use spaghetti". Then which pasta is appropriate for this sauce?

According to

Pasta

"The traditional pasta that goes with Bolognese sauce are the tagliatelle, serving spaghetti with Bolognese sauce is actually a sign of mediocrity in the understanding of Italian cuisine"

[di reston]

Very nice thread. The ragù that contains both ground beef and pork in it is the one that's most used, according to my research (all sources in Italian language) and is excellent. This is the recipe that mothers give to their daughters when they get married, and is much beloved in Italy. Obviously, the classic ragù from their own region is also handed down.

Further observations: make sure that the ragù is rather dry when you make lasagne, and be sparing with the bechamel. But I'm sure you already know this!

I have a very nice recipe for cannelloni from Ravenna that a friend sent a number of years ago now. Our friends love it.


di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

[Steve Kroll]

No intended offense to the people that record these "official" recipes (I've seen similar declarations for everything from Cornish Pasties to Texas Chili to Pizza), but I really dislike the word "official." It makes it sound as if it's the be-all end-all, and that there's no room for innovation or improvement.

I prefer to view these types of recipes as a place to start, rather than the final word.

[Andy M.]

Originally Posted by CraigC

Classic, traditional and authentic are words I tend to stay away from when dealing with food origins. You know the saying about "a different recipe/version for every grandmother". So, they discount all other recipes before 10-17-82 and claim this as the "official" one? Oaky doaky then.

Originally Posted by Steve Kroll

No intended offense to the people that record these "official" recipes (I've seen similar declarations for everything from Cornish Pasties to Texas Chili to Pizza), but I really dislike the word "official." It makes it sound as if it's the be-all end-all, and that there's no room for innovation or improvement.

I prefer to view these types of recipes as a place to start, rather than the final word.

I agree with your comments.

However, there are a few cases where a recipe originated from a single source. In those cases you can pinpoint a recipe as authentic. The name applied to a specific recipe frequently continues to be applied to recipes that have varied substantially from that original source.

Also, as you know, in Italy there are specified regions within which certain foods originated and are legally controlled to adhere to standards. Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and Prosciutto de Parma come to mind.

As a result, it does not surprise me there is an official recipe for Ragu alla Bolognese.

[tenspeed]

I think we're getting caught up in semantics here, but I can certainly accept "The Classic Bolognese Ragù according the Accademia Italiana della Cucina". "Official" may not be the right word. The itchefs-gvci web site acknowledges there are variations. "In Italy, there are several traditional recipes of Tagliatelle al ragù alla Bolognese with more or less slight variations and far too many individual interpretations of it." At any rate it's good to have the generally accepted recipe from the country of origin, and of course you can modify it any way you like. I think I'll give the recipe tailored for non-Italian chefs a try.