Pappardelle Ragu Alla Bolognese Sauce Recipe
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Authentic Italian Pappardelle Ragu Alla Bolognese sauce over wide egg noodles, topped with pocket soy creamy burrata and ricotta cheese. The only meat sauce recipe you’ll ever need.
Pappardelle alla Bolognese
Bologna or Bologna la Grassa, the home to Ragu alla Bolognese, heavenly lasagna, Parmigiano Reggiano and Prosciutto di Parma. It’ where good food has permanent residency and where Lasagna al Forno and Bolognese reign over the land.
Every household in Bologna has its own variation of the classic slow simmered meat sauce. So I figured that a rainy chilly day as today would be the perfect day to share my own. Because in the middle of winter, there isn’t anything much more comforting than a steaming bowl of pappardelle under your nose.
I will say though, this is one meal that can’t be rushed, so please take your time planning ahead and making it. Plan it for your day off and give it a good 4 to 6 hours on the stop top.
Whaat? How many hours you say? Yes! You read that correctly and you’ll thank me later. Besides, what an amazing way to warm up your home as well!
Ingredient Tips
- The pappardelle pasta noodles are suggested in this recipe because of the wide long cut noodle’s ability to hold up to such a thick sauce. However, any large pasta with ridges will work just fine: rigatoni, lumache etc..
- For Serving I like to add pockets of creamy burrata cheese or spoonful of fresh ricotta on top. I love the temperature contrast of hot and cold and the fresh soft texture of the burrata balancing the comforting long simmered taste of the sauce.
More Italian Recipes
- Ricotta Meatballs
- Italian Beef Stew
- Italian Steak
- Rosemary Biscuits
- Focaccia Bread
- Best Minestrone Soup
- Pomodoro Sauce
- Potato Pasta.
Pappardelle Ragu Alla Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion -diced
- 1 large carrot -diced
- 1 celery stalk -sliced
- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 2 x 28 oz cans whole San Marzano tomatoes in tomato puree
- 1/3 lb chicken livers- chopped (OPTIONAL but recommended)
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 1/2 c red wine
- 1 c whole milk
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt + more to your taste buds
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- freshly grated nutmeg
- Parmigiano Reggiano for grating
- 1 lb pappardelle pasta
- 2 sprigs fresh basil
- 1 lb burrata cheese for serving
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil and butter in a large enameled cast iron pot. Add the red pepper flakes and onion with a pinch of sea salt. Saute until translucent.
- Stir in the chopped liver ( strongly recommended, the flavors are to die for ) and let cook for 5 minutes then mix in the diced carrots and celery. Allow everything to cook together for another 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and the ground meat to the pot and break it up with the side of a wooden spoon. Cook until no longer pink, then add the tomato paste and the wine.
- Allow to simmer until the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and cook another 5 minutes until evaporated.
- Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them to the pot together with the bay leaves and the sea salt. Partially cover with a lid and bring to a slow simmer.
- Allow to cook for about 4 to 5 hours stirring often and adding about half a cup of water ever so often if to keep the sauce from drying out.
- After 5 hours and once the sauce has the desired consistency ( you want a nice thick sauce ), adjust seasonings, remove from heat and grate in some of the nutmeg.
- Stir and serve on top of your perfectly cooked tagliatelle or pappardelle with a nice sprinkling of freshly grated parmigiano reggiano .
- Cook the pasta al dente, following the instructions on the package. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water just in case you need to add some to the sauce. Remember, your pasta water should taste like sea water, so be generous with the sea salt.
- Serve the ragu sauce on top of the pasta topped with the burrata pockets and sprinkled with some torn basil leaves.
Nutrition
I would like to make this for a dinner party. If I’m feeding 12-13 can I just double all ingredients, or only some? Your input is appreciated. Best Bolognese I’ve ever tasted btw!!
Thank you so much Kim! I would say yes, except the chicken livers (If using them) and then the salt, taste as you go so you don’t add to much. The idea is to reduce the bolognese down to a thick sauce. Let me know how it goes 🙂 ~Florentina
You are stretching me here. Chicken livers are definitely not part of my usual shopping list. I do trust you though, Florentina. This sauce does look amazing and I bet the liver does add a well blended deeper flavor. I can see I’m going to have to add them to my shopping list. And I LOVE slow cooked sauces that make the house warm and smell delicious all day. Add that to the pasta and I may have hit heaven!
You just need to try it once Diane, you’ll never even know they were there because they completely melt into the other ingredients, but the rich flavors of the bolognese will make you use again 😉
Loving this sauce that you cooked low and slow! That’s what makes the sauce! Sharing on facebook!
I am a pasta nut, to this sounds delicious to me. Nothing better than a nice pasta dish and a bottle of wine on Saturday night…enjoying time with my husband!!
Now this is comforting Italian food! I could eat a big bowl of this right now.
4-6 hours? I’m definitely going to try your slower cooking recipe. I bet it makes it magical!
yes a lot of hours is teh best , so must be done on a chilly day for sure ha! ~ Florentina
terrific dish, after i mixed and cooked all the ingredients in a pan, i transferred it to a crock pot and allowed it to cook on low for 5 hours. also substituted turkey for the beef/pork and added fresh basil toward the end. perfect meal for friends and family, everyone had seconds.
Wow. I made this for my friends and family last night cooking it for 5 hours and including the chicken livers. It was INCREDIBLE! Thank you for the recipe and thank you for the tip about the livers I now can’t imagine making it any other way they add such richness and depth to the sauce!
Just reading that recipe has me practically drooling all over myself. I’m definitely printing this one up, thanks Florentina!
Now that’s the reaction i love !!! haha
Made this on Saturday. It is to die for! Great recipe. Did not use chicken livers and it was wonderful. Hubby thought it was spicy but I liked it.
I made this last weekend for a family birthday dinner. It was so good! I doubled the recipe hoping that there would be plenty of leftovers….but everyone loved it so much there were barely any leftovers! I would definitely make again!
in your recipes you call for store bought canned tomatoes, can home canned tomatoes be substituted in the recipe easily?
I say there’s nothing like home made, so if you have home canned tomatoes by all means use those instead.
This looks really delicious and perfect for a cold Winter night in NYC! I am in LOVE with Italian food so please keep sharing great recipes and cooking ideas/tips! Ciao Bella!
Thank you, I also love your blog !
Sounds soooo yummy! Drop by and enter my giveaway for the One World One Heart Event. This will be the last year this event will run. Meet new friends and make new connections.
Oh man! I’m thanking you right now for this recipe. This bowl of goodness looks AMAZING!
I am all about comfort food, just use the best ingredients you can get your hands on, one of life’s best pleasures 🙂