Bolognese ragù (ragù alla bolognese)

Method

1. Chop the pancetta finely with a knife. Chop the onion, carrot and celery as finely as possible with a knife (not in a food processor, which would make the vegetables watery and mushy).
2. In a heavy-based pot (ideally cast iron or earthenware) heat the oil with the pancetta and let it melt over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables and soften them slowly for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then; they must not brown.
3. Add the minced beef, raise the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for about 10 minutes until the released juices have evaporated and the meat sizzles and browns lightly.
4. Pour in the wine and let it evaporate completely, stirring, for about 5 minutes.
   TipReducing a sauceReduction boils off the water but keeps the salt: a sauce that was just right can easily end up as brine.Why and howShow less

   Why

   When you reduce a sauce, simmering it uncovered, water evaporates while flavour compounds, sugars, gelatin from meat and bones and salt stay in the pan, so they become concentrated and the sauce thickens. If you salt it at the start and then reduce it by half, it will be roughly twice as salty – which is why seasoning is adjusted at the end. The brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan or roasting tin after searing or roasting (the fond) are among the tastiest parts of a sauce: poured over with stock, wine or water and scraped up, they dissolve into the sauce – this is called deglazing. A gentle simmer is enough; at a hard boil the sauce easily scorches at the edges and on the bottom, and if it contains a lot of sugar or gelatin it reduces into a sticky mass.

   How to do it

   1. Cook uncovered in a wider pan so the water evaporates faster.
   2. Salt only at the end, once the sauce has the thickness you want.
   3. Pour hot stock, wine or water over the fond and scrape it off the bottom with a wooden spoon; leave out black, burnt bits, they would make the sauce bitter.
   4. Keep only a gentle simmer and stir now and then, especially at the bottom and the edges.
   5. Test the thickness on a spoon: the sauce should coat it thinly; bear in mind it will thicken further as it cools.

   If it goes wrong

   An oversalted sauce can only be saved by diluting it: add unsalted stock, water or cream and bring the thickness back with a short simmer. Thin a sauce that is too thick or sticky with a little hot water. Pour a scorched sauce into a clean pan at once without scraping the bottom; if it already tastes burnt, it can't be saved.

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5. Stir in the tomato paste and the passata, cover with a lid and let the ragù barely bubble over very low heat for 2 hours (up to 3 hours if you like). Whenever it starts to dry out, add a ladleful of stock. After about an hour, stir in the milk and let it be absorbed and evaporate during the rest of the cooking. Finally season with salt and pepper. The finished ragù is thick and dark reddish brown, with fat on the surface.
   TipTomatoes, tomato paste and acidityTomatoes have character: raw paste is sharp and sour, but a few minutes in fat give it a rounded flavour.Why and howShow less

   Why

   Tomato paste is concentrated tomato flesh with plenty of sugars and acids; briefly fried in fat, some of the sugars brown and the raw, sharply sour taste turns full and rounded, but it must be stirred, because it scorches easily on a dry pan base. Long simmering, fat, cream or a little sugar soften a sharp sauce; sugar doesn't neutralise the acid, though, it only balances it on the palate. Baking soda really does neutralise acid, but in tests it made the sauce taste flat, and larger amounts foam and taste soapy, so a pinch at most. Acid firms up the cell walls of vegetables and pulses, so beans, chickpeas and potatoes soften more slowly in tomato sauce. Acidic food doesn't belong in uncoated aluminium: the German BfR advises against cooking or storing acidic and salty food, such as tomato purée, in uncoated aluminium pots, because aluminium migrates into it; with cast iron, manufacturers say long cooking of acidic food strips the protective seasoning.

   How to do it

   1. Stir the paste into hot fat and fry it for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens and smells sweet; then add liquid at once.
   2. Simmer a sour sauce for longer and round it off with fat or cream; add sugar little by little and taste.
   3. Use baking soda only as an exception, a pinch per pot at most, and let it fizz out before tasting.
   4. Cook beans, chickpeas and potatoes until tender first, or allow longer cooking in the sauce – see the Cooking pulses card.
   5. Cook and store tomato sauces in stainless steel, enamel or glass, not in uncoated aluminium or new, lightly seasoned cast iron.

   If it goes wrong

   Paste that has scorched on the base won't lose that taste: pour the sauce into a clean pot without scraping and start again with a fresh batch. An overly sour sauce is saved by longer simmering, a knob of butter or a spoonful of cream. Dilute a sauce that tastes soapy after soda with canned tomatoes and leave the soda out next time.

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