I don’t typically write a long story (I’m personally not a fan of reading them) but this recipe is special and needs a little explaining.

My husband and I and our family spent a week in Tuscany at a villa. The villa came with a chef and I volunteered (or forced – haha) my help on him. He was very kind but spoke no English. But the thing about cooing is it can be completely nonverbal, simply by watching you can learn everything you need to know. This is that chefs personal recipe from Bologna, Italy.

In the food blogger world, you can get bullied by trolls who like to point out your recipe isn’t “authentic” due to some reasoning like “that’s not how their family made it”. Well, I can confidently say this bolognese recipe is authentic. The recipe was handwritten, in Italian, by an Italian chef in Tuscany, Italy in June of 2019. If that’s not authentic, I don’t know what is. 🙂 I truly hope you enjoy this recipe and it transports you straight to the Tuscan Hills!

I had the recipe translated and below you will find the recipe exactly as he wrote it – except in English. 🙂

Ragu (sauce) Bolognese (as made in Bologna)

Ingredients

• 100 grams* onion – chopped

• 100 grams* celery – chopped

• 100 grams* carrot – chopped

• 500 grams* of veal or beef

Directions

Simmer chopped onions, celery, and carrots in extra virgin olive oil. Let it reduce a bit.
Add in beef – allow to heat then add 1 cup red wine.
Let the wine evaporate then add sauce, either crushed tomatoes (28oz can or a jar of sauce) and cook at a low temp for 3 hours.
Add salt and pepper to your taste level.

Krista’s notes:
* While grams is a measurement of weight and in the US we typically use volume as our preferred measurement you can translate 100 grams to about 1/2 cup – I went heavy on the veggies and used about 1 full cup. 500 grams translates to just over 1 pound of ground meat.

1. I should have chopped the veggies a little smaller. While they were extremely tender I would have not liked seeing the bigger pieces so much. But that’s just my preference, it didn’t change the taste.

2. I added a bay leaf to the recipe. I just like the flavor it adds. Some bolognese recipes also call for basil. Add either or both to your liking!

3. The traditional pasta noodle shape used with bolognese is the tagliatelle made with eggs, which is what I used. However, the egg noodles aren’t my favorite, I would recommend using a  pappardelle or fettuccine noodle.

Thank you so much stopping by my food blog, I appreciate your time and would love to hear any feedback.
Please leave a note in the comments section below and if you make this recipe tag your image using #DESOCIOINTHEKITCHEN.