Happy news is here I’m gonna share two recipes in one blog post. This is how you make your own homemade bolognese meat sauce or RAGU as how these Italian people call. Based on ground meat, tomato purée and more other loads of flavours. Start with good flavourful soffritto of veggies then cooking your ground meat with wine, herbs, broth and tomato purée for hours in low flame. I think this is the best Italian pasta sauce after classic tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes.

Here I chopped my onion, celery and carrot. Because I love when well cooked veggies go through my moth and their appearance in my sauce. Then I feel, that I have something else than meat in my sauce. I know this is crazy but I love the feeling of veggies. Sometimes I dice those and do the sauce. But only when I’m mixing with cooked pasta. and here in Italy some people blend all onion, carrot, celery and garlic with little bit of water until creamy and do their soffritto/sautéing. This method is good if you are sharing this with one who hate to eat veggies. specially with children. Just blend everything and follow the rest.

For the sauce, you can make your own broth or you can add store brought ones or you can add stock water even. All these work well. I have tried all these three steps but I highly recommend to use your own homemade broth or store Brough broth instead of stock water. they are more rich in flavours. 

And adding alcohol…..you can totally skip. Sometimes I add red wine, sometimes white. If I don’t have both, I do my bolognese without any alcohol. It’s totally good. And I go with some cooking wine, white wine if I have also. White or red, cooking or drinking both wine works here.

Here I used only minced pork. But in real recipe they use both minced pork and beef. Even you also can use both for this recipe. And also minced chicken, turkey also good for your bolognese sauce. When you sear the meat, try to break them as much as possible. If it is difficult to do with the wooden spoon, use fork to break the meat. Do this in low flame, so you won’t burn your hand while mixing for long time.

Adding dried chilli flakes is not an optional thing. Most Italian grandmas, Nonna, in south Italy they add little bit of spiciness for their bolognese and many more other pasta sauces. I lived nearly three years in Palermo, South Italy. From there I gotta know more Italian foods. So even I do add just a small amount of spiciness for my bolognese sauce. 

At last, to cook a good bolognese sauce you need more time. You cannot do this in rush. Everything cook in low flame for hours and hours. stir in every 10-15 minutes and cook at least 2 hours in low flame with the lid on. If need, cook more. until your sauce is thick, rich in flavours. 

This time I was doing this sauce for my lasagna. Bought some fresh lasagna sheets. Every time I buy these fresh lasagna sheets from one of the Italian brand called “Rana” for all these ten years I’m using this brand and in love with their fresh pasta. It’s very complicate to use dry lasagna sheet pasta for me. But you are free to use dry sheets even, just follow the package instructions. And simply mix this sauce with your tagliatelle, spaghetti or any other pasta and you’ll have your BOLOGNESE PASTA.

Baking time will be differ from oven to oven, pasta to pasta. So don’t fix with my time. If you see your lasagna top with brown and bubble, then it is ready. Serve in hot. Leftovers store in an airtight container or just simply cover the lasagna tray with cling wrap and store in the refrigerator up-to two days. Re heat in pre heated oven about 10 minutes in 170’C.

BOLOGNESE MEAT SAUCE 

1.heat a pot with 3tbs olive oil. 

2.let’s do soffritto first. Add finely chopped 1 medium onion, chopped 2 medium celery stalks, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 medium carrots julienne/dices to the pot and start to sauté. Sauté about 4-5 minutes or until soft in medium heat. 

3.add 300g ground meat and sear with veggies in low flame. Try to break the meat as much as you can while searing. Doing this in low flame will help you to break the meat more without burning your hand from the hot steam comes out. This may takes about 5-7 minuets or more. 

4.once you are done with searing and breaking ground meat add 50ml red wine to the meat and let it cook completely in medium heat. 

5.when wine gets cooked add 300ml broth, 2 bay leaves to the pot and give it a good stir. Bring it to boil in medium heat and simmer. Once the broth is almost cooked lower the flame. 

6.dd 1tbs tomato concentrate and cook with meat about 2 minutes while mixing. 

7.add 500ml tomato purée to the pot and give it a good stir. 

8.adjust with salt. sauce was already salted with broth but If need more salt add. Add some ground pepper, 1tsp dried chilli flakes and mix with the sauce. 

9.cover with a lid and cook with the  lowest flame at least 2 hours or more until your sauce is thick and nice. Control in every 15 minute and give it a good stir through these cooking hours. 

LASAGNA 

1.i got 12 fresh lasagna sheets. It was 250g. 

2.mix the bolognese with 250ml besciamella sauce. You’ll need around 100g grated Parmesan cheese, this may be less or more on your cheesy level. Used 125g mozzarella cheese, you can add more even. 

3.i used square shape Pyrex baking pan to bake my lasagna. Spread 1tbs in the baking pan. This avoid lasagna sheet getting stick to the pan. 

4.then place sheet/sheets in the pan. Some besciamella mixed bolognese sauce over the lasagna sheet, sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese and repeat it in layers evenly. 

5.i used to add mozzarella at the last two top layers. Repeat the layers with lasagna sheet, bolognese sauce and grated Parmesan cheese and at the one before the last add mozzarella and again with lasagna sheet, bolognese sauce, grated Parmesan cheese and more mozzarella on top. 

6.meantime pre heat your oven to 200’C. And for these sheets, written 15 minutes for cooking time. But I baked in 180’C around 20-22 minutes until mozzarella gets melt and top look dark. 

7.this time will vary from the sheet you use.