Ragù bolognese
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Ragù bolognese
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Nadine Brown
Nadine Brown
Ingredients
- 30g unsalted butter
- 100g pancetta, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery sticks, finely diced
- 70g chicken livers, rinsed and finely chopped
- 1 x 500g pack 20% fat beef mince
- 250ml whole milk
- fresh nutmeg
- 250ml white wine (we used sauvignon blanc)
- 1 x 400g tin peeled plum tomatoes
- 30g double concentrate tomato purée
- 2 fresh bay leaves
To serve
- fresh tagliatelle
- grated parmesan (optional)
Step by step
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Melt the butter in a deep lidded casserole over a medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 3-4 minutes until the fat starts to melt and the meat starts to darken. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
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Add the chicken livers, increase the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned. Add the mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it up in the pan, until no longer pink. Add the milk, reduce to a medium-low heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the milk has mostly evaporated. Add a few gratings of nutmeg.
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Preheat the oven to 120°C, fan 100°C, gas ½. Stir in the wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Tip the tomatoes into a bowl, then crush using your hands and tip into the casserole with the tomato purée and bay leaves, giving everything a good stir. Cover the casserole with its lid, transfer to the oven and leave for 5 hours. It will be tempting but don’t disturb it – leave the oven to do its thing.
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Remove the casserole from the oven and stir everything together, removing the bay leaves. Serve tossed with tagliatelle and finished with a sprinkle of parmesan, if you like. You can freeze portions of the ragù in sealed freezer bags. To cook from frozen, defrost in the fridge and reheat.
TipIf you can, wait at least an hour before tucking in. The flavours will mingle and further develop for an unbeatable ragù.
