Ingredients
Meat sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 13.5 g
- 1 medium onion about 148 g, finely diced
- 1 carrot about 78 g, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks about 110 g, finely diced
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef 450 g
- 1/2 pound ground pork 225 g
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste 32 g, no salt added
- 1 cup whole milk 240 ml
- 1 14-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes in juice 400 g, crushed by hand with all juices
- 1/2 cup water 120 ml, plus more as needed during simmering
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt 3 g; adjust at the end if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
Pasta and serving
- 1 pound dried tagliatelle or fettuccine 450 g
- 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water use only as needed
- finely grated Parmesan optional, for serving
Equipment
- Large heavy pot or Dutch oven
- wooden spoon
- large pasta pot
- Kitchen scale
- Food thermometer
- Colander
Instructions
Build the sauce
- Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery into similar small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the vegetables and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until softened without dark edges.
- Add the beef and pork. Increase the heat to medium-high and break the meat into small crumbles. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until its liquid has largely evaporated and some meat develops brown edges. Do not drain the measured mixture.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the milk, reduce to medium heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up brown bits. The milk will partly reduce; do not boil it dry.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and all their juices, 1/2 cup water, salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low and leave the lid slightly ajar. Simmer for 90 minutes, stirring about every 15 to 20 minutes and adding a splash of water whenever the sauce begins to stick. Keep it gently bubbling, not boiling hard. Ensure the ground meat reaches at least 160°F (71°C).
- Uncover for the last 10 to 15 minutes if the sauce is loose. It is ready when the meat and vegetables are tender and a spoon pulled through the sauce leaves a shallow trail that closes slowly. If necessary, simmer a little longer; pot width and heat affect timing. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Toss and serve
- Toward the end of the simmer, bring a separate large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to its package until just tender with a little resistance. Reserve 1 cup cooking water before draining.
- Add the drained pasta to the sauce, using a large warm bowl if the pot is too small. Toss gently, adding reserved water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time only if needed for a coating that clings to the ribbons. Divide evenly into six portions. Serve with optional grated Parmesan.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving (1/6 sauce plus 75 g dry pasta)Calories: 571kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 33.9gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6.7gCholesterol: 79.5mgSodium: 398.2mgFiber: 5.1gSugar: 9g
Video
Notes
Video credit: RecipeTin Eats, Spaghetti Bolognese. It demonstrates browning, simmering and tossing a Bolognese-style meat sauce. Its quicker, more tomato-forward formula uses wine, garlic, bouillon and other seasonings; this recipe uses milk, carrot and celery, no wine, and a longer simmer. Follow this card's ingredients and timing.
Nutrition is an approximate ingredient-weight calculation for one-sixth of the complete batch, including 75 g dried pasta per portion. It uses USDA ingredient records for 90% lean beef, ground pork, tomatoes, tomato paste and dry enriched pasta, FDA raw-vegetable data and a representative whole-milk label. Assumes all cooking fat remains and includes 3 g salt. Excludes optional Parmesan, black pepper and any salt added to pasta water or at the table. Brands, egg pasta and portions change the values; micronutrients and incomplete trans-fat data are not estimated. Contains milk and wheat; some pasta contains egg. Check labels for individual needs.
Refrigerate in shallow covered containers within two hours, or one hour above 90°F. Use within three to four days; freeze sauce separately for up to three months for best quality. Thaw in the refrigerator. Reheat to 165°F (74°C), bringing the sauce to a rolling boil and stirring. Add water as needed. Cost varies by local products and is not estimated.
