Pappardelle Bolognese

Course: Italian

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: best bolognese sauce recipe, bolognese ragu recipe, Classic bolognese sauce recipe

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 2 30

Total Time: 2 45

Servings: people

Calories: 553kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

Pappardelle Bolognese is a favorite at our house. Make the pasta, if you can, and cut into /2" strips to make the perfect pappardelle...or, boil lasagna noodles, and cut those...or, just use fettuccine...no matter what...with this Bolognese sauce, you can't go wrong.

Print Recipe

Equipment

Large Dutch oven, or pot.

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 oz pancetta chopped
1½ cups onion chopped
3 celery stalks chopped
3 large carrots peeled, chopped (a food processor works well)
12 oz ground beef 85% lean is nice
6 oz ground pork
6 oz ground veal
¾ cup dry red wine
3 cups Pacific Foods Organic Beef Bone Broth divided (2 1/2 cups and then a 1/2 cup)
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes preferably San Marzano, drained
3 tbsp tomato paste
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup whole milk
1 lb pappardelle
Finely grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot (preferably a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Sauté pancetta for 5 minutes.
Add the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until soft, about another 10 minutes.
Add beef, pork, and veal and sauté, breaking it up, until browned, about 15 minutes.
At this point, if you feel you have too much fat that has rendered, tilt the pot and use a large spoon to collect the fat that has pooled at the end of the pot. Remove all grease except for about 1 tbsp.
Add wine; boil for 1 minute, deglazing the pan (scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan).
Add 2½ cups of the broth and the tomato paste; stir. Use your hands to squeeze and gently break the whole tomatoes into the sauce. Reduce heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, 1½ hours. Season with salt (2 tsp) and black pepper (1 tsp).
Warm the milk in a small saucepan and then gradually add to the sauce.
Simmer the sauce for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and milk has completely been absorbed. Add more broth if the sauce is too thick. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in liberally salted, boiling water until al denté. Follow packaging instructions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta liquid. Drain pasta.
Transfer 2 large spoonsful of the sauce to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pasta and toss until coated. Add in remaining sauce and a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water until pasta is fully coated and the consistency is right.
Serve at once with Parmesan cheese on the side.

Video

Notes

Cubed pancetta can be found in many well-stocked supermarkets, often in the deli section. You can also use sliced pancetta or prosciutto, roughly chopped.

We like using beef, veal, and pork for this sauce. However, you can use a combination of just beef and pork, or beef and veal. Just make sure the amount you are using totals 24 oz (1 1/2 lbs).

The sauce can be made up to several days in advance. Actually, it gets even better after it has time to meld even further in an air-tight container in the fridge. The sauce freezes for 1 to 2 months.

If you can't find pappardelle, you can boil lasagna noodles and then use a pizza cutter to cut strips that are about 1/2-inch in width. Or, just go with a nice spaghetti, linguine, or other long pasta.

Nutrition