Ultimate Bolognese Sauce

 

Total Time: 4 hours 32 minutes

Equipment

• Food processor
• Large-sized pot
• wooden spoon

Ingredients

• 500 g 
• 500 g 
• 100 g  pancetta
• 1 brown onion chopped
• 2 celery sticks chopped
• 3 carrots chopped
• 1 bottle Italian passata
• 100 g tomato paste
• 400 g peeled tomatoes
• 1 glass of wine
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

Add pancetta to a food processor and blend until finely chopped.

In a large pot over low medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the blended pancetta. Let it sweat gently, then add the chopped onion, celery, and carrots. Cook with the lid on for about 10 minutes. Every 2 minutes, check and stir to prevent burning using a wooden spoon.

After about 7 minutes, or when all ingredients are tender and glossy, add a splash of red wine, close the lid again, and let it finish cooking. Drizzle in a little more olive oil, then add the ground beef and pork, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat really well, and mix it into the sauce until well incorporated.

Once the meat turns grey, pour in the remaining wine and mix well. Let it simmer for 10 minutes than season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Next, stir in the tomato paste and mix until it’s spread throughout the meat, then add the passata and peeled tomatoes.

Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 3 hours. Every 30 minutes, check the sauce, give it a stir, and make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

After 3 hours, remove the lid, stir the sauce well and continue cooking uncovered for 1 more hour. Add more salt and pepper to adjust the seasoning (after you taste it), and scrape the bottom of the pot as you stir. Keep the heat low.