Original Bolognese

Chef Way

Ultra-rich and beefy Bolognese that comes together in 15 minutes. Based on Pellegrino Artusi's Bolognese recipe found in his cookbook La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well), published in 1891.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 4

Ingredients

250 g maccheroni or round tubular pasta, or tagliatelle
300 g veal, ground
100 g pancetta, small diced
80 g butter, cubed
120 g carrot
120 g onion
60 g celery
350 mL beef bone broth (1½ c / 12 fl oz)
salt to taste
black pepper to taste, freshly cracked
nutmeg to taste, freshly grated
15 g all-purpose flour (2 tbsp)
Parmigiano Reggiano to taste
pasta water, reserved

Instructions

Grind the veal and set to the side or purchase already ground.
Add the carrot, onion and celery ("mirepoix") to an 8-cup food processor and process until very finely minced. Set to the side.
Mise en place the ground veal, diced pancetta, butter, mirepoix, bone broth, salt, black pepper, nutmeg, flour, and Parmigiano Reggiano close to where you cook so they can be quickly added to the dish.
Add the serving plates to the oven and put the oven on "warm."
Bring enough water to comfortably boil the pasta up to a vigorous boil. Season the water with salt after it is boiling. Keep it at a boil. Cover if necessary to prevent over-evaporation.
Bring a 12-inch skillet up to high heat. Once the skillet is properly preheated, add the pancetta. Sauté the pancetta for 20-30 seconds to release some fat. Next add the mirepoix. Sauté for 1 minute then add the butter. Stir until the butter is completely melted, about 1 minute.
When the butter is completely melted add the veal and break it up and spread it around the skillet. Season with salt, black pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Stir to combine the seasonings. Sauté until the ground veal is fully cooked through, about 2 minutes.
*For 6–9-minute pasta, add the pasta to the water and cook it ¾ of the way through.
Next sprinkle the flour over the top and stir to combine. Sauté and allow moisture to evaporate and a fond to form a crust on the bottom of the skillet, about 1-2 minutes.
Deglaze the skillet with bone broth. Scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon/spatula to release the fond into the Bolognese.
Reduce the Bolognese by ¼ or more per your taste, roughly 2-3 minutes. The Bolognese is complete. Keep it warm on low heat.
As the pasta reaches the ¾ cooked point crank the heat all the way up to high on the Bolognese. Reserve the pasta water and remove the pasta from the water and add the pasta directly to the Bolognese. Add 1 cup-1⅓ cup of pasta water to the combined pasta and sauce.
Over high heat finish the pasta in the Bolognese until the pasta is al dente. The time for finishing the pasta in the Bolognese will vary but the hallmark of completion will be the Bolognese coating the noodles. Once the Bolognese is coating the pasta, season with additional salt, black pepper, and copious amounts of Parmigiano Reggiano to taste.
Serve on warmed plates. Garnish with more black pepper and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Notes

Note: *Try to time the pasta cook according to your pastas package instructions and the Bolognese being finished. If you are not yet a great multitasker in the kitchen, make the Bolognese first and keep on low heat while you make the pasta second

Maccheroni alla Bolognese (Macaroni Bolognese)

by Pellegrino Artusi (1891)

(translated to English)

"For this dish the people of Bologna used a medium-sized pasta called denti di cavallo (horse’s teeth), and I agree that this kind of pasta is best for cooking in this style. Be certain, in any case, to use a fairly thick pasta, so that they do not fall apart during the boiling.

The following proportions are approximate for seasoning 500 grams (a pound) or more of pasta.

150 grams lean veal (better if in fillets.)
50 grams pancetta.
40 grams butter.
One quarter of a regular onion.
Half a carrot.
Two palm-length ribs of white celery or the herb portion of a green celery.
Just a little pinch of flour.
A little pot of broth.
A small amount of salt, depending on the saltiness of the pancetta and broth.
Pepper and nutmeg to taste.

Cut the meat into small cubes, chop the pancetta, onion and herbs with a mezzaluna, and put them under the heat with the butter. When the meat has browned add the pinch of flour and broth and continue cooking until it is done.
Drain the pasta thoroughly and toss it with Parmesan cheese and this sauce, which you can make even better by adding some dried mushrooms, or sliced truffle, or a bit of chopped cooked chicken liver.
Finally, you can add a half cup of cream to the sauce at the end of the cooking to make it more delicate. In each case, it is best that the macaroni arrive at the table not dry, but bathed in a bit of sauce."