Bolognese sauce, or ragu bolognese, is a sauce considered one of the basics of Italian cuisine. Like with any traditional recipe, you can find it prepared with different nuances and variations. However, the cornerstones of the recipe remain unchanged, which involve the use of an initial chop of celery, carrot, and onion called the soffrito, a combination of pork and beef mince, good quality tinned tomatoes and of course red wine.
Vital to the success of an excellent bolognese sauce is to follow all the cooking steps well, patiently and carefully, and not to be in a hurry. In fact, long cooking is essential for the right flavour and texture. However, one thing that makes a key difference and that my Italian grandma would add every time without fail is milk. The lactic acid and calcium help tenderise the beef, while the milk itself balances the flavours of wine and tomatoes, creating a creamier, richer sauce.
Ingredients
Two tablespoons of olive oilTwo carrotsTwo celery sticksOne onion150g of pork mince150g of beef minceThree tins of chopped tomatoesOne tablespoon of tomato pureeHalf a cup of red wine1 cup of milkSalt and pepper
Method
Whenever I make a bolognese, the first thing I start off by doing is preparing the soffrito mix. This involved chopping the onion, carrots and celery into small pieces and often takes me a while.
To speed up the process, I decided to give the Kenwood MultiPro One Touch Food Processor a go. While it would take me a good five to 10 minutes to chop up the veggies, the food processor took mere seconds.
The first thing I did was to use the pulse button to chop the onion. I peeled and quartered the onion, then added it to the main blade, and it took just three pulses to finely chop the onion. I then added the carrots and celery, and in just five pulses, they were finely chopped.
With the soffrito mix prepared, I added the oil to a large pan and then added the vegetable mix. I like to let the onions, carrots and celery fry off for five to 10 minutes before moving on to the next step, as they need to properly soften for the flavours to be released.
I next added the meat and let that brown before adding in the tomato puree, salt, pepper and red wine to deglaze the pan. This stage is crucial because the flavour compounds that make the sauce good are formed, and because no trace of alcohol should remain, which would impart an unpleasant taste to the sauce.
After it was time to add the tinned tomatoes. For the best flavour, I love using the brand Mutti. As I want the sauce to be smooth, I blend the tinned tomatoes.
Given how well the Kenwood MultiPro One Touch Food Processor was at chopping the onions, I wanted to see how well the blender attachment worked. I blended the tinned tomatoes, which took 15 seconds. This was enough to completely liquidise it perfectly smooth.
The one issue I had with the blender was that there was a small hole in the lid, which meant that some of the liquid was spitting out of the hole. In the end, I held a paper towel over it, and the spitting stopped after 10 seconds.
Next, I half-filled it with water and added some dishwashing liquid, then used the 33-second clean preset to remove most of the tomato residue. It worked a treat, and I just had to rinse it and give it a quick wipe to get it fully cleaned.
Retailing for £149.99 down from £199.99, the Kenwood MultiPro One Touch Food Processor is a great investment if you have a big kitchen and you want your appliances to work hard for you.
However, if you’re worried about space, it really is worth checking out food processors like the Kenwood MultiPro Go FDP22.130GY, which retails for £39.99 down from £59.99 currently, the Ninja BN650UK Auto IQ Compact Food Processor, which retails for £120 at Argos or the Kitchen Aid Food Processor 1.7L that retails for £169.
With the tinned tomatoes chopped, I added them to the pan and gave it all a mix before pouring in the milk and stirring the sauce again.
I then brought the sauce to a boil before bringing it down to a low heat and leaving it to simmer with the lid on for three hours. The longer the sauce is left to cook, the more flavourful it becomes. I just made sure to stir it every half an hour.
When the sauce is almost ready, I like to give it a taste to see if it needs salt or pepper. When I make a big batch of bolognese, I like to freeze part of it, and it keeps fresh for three months.
