Spaghetti Bolognese
Slow-simmered beef ragù, tomato and parmigiano.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
Two non-obvious moves: (1) deeply brown the beef - gray meat = gray sauce, golden-crusty meat = rich sauce; (2) the milk step before the tomato. It sounds weird but the lactose tenderizes the meat and rounds the acidity. Skip neither.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 1 lbspaghetti
- 1 lbground beef 80/20
- 1 mediumyellow onionfinely diced
- 1 mediumcarrotfinely diced
- 1celery stalkfinely diced
- 3garlic clovesminced
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 28 ozcanned crushed tomatoes
- ½ cupwhole milk
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1bay leaf
- ½ cupparmigiano-reggianofreshly grated
- 1½ tspkosher salt
- ½ tspblack pepper
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 780calories
- 42gprotein
- 82gcarbs
- 32gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Finely dice the onion, carrot, and celery (the soffritto) - same small dice.
- Mince 3 garlic cloves.
- Grate the parmigiano.
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil for the pasta (after the ragù is well underway).
Build soffritto
Heat olive oil in the Dutch oven over medium. Add onion, carrot, celery and salt. Cook 8-10 min, stirring, until soft and the onion is translucent - no color, just softening. Add garlic; cook 30 sec.
9 min · hands onBrown beef
Push soffritto to one side. Add ground beef in the cleared space. Break it up with the spoon and cook 7-8 min, undisturbed at first, then stirring, until deeply browned (not just gray). The fond at the bottom is flavor - don't rush this.
8 min · hands onBloom and add milk
Stir in tomato paste; cook 90 sec until darkened. Pour in milk and stir; simmer 5 min until milk is nearly absorbed. (Milk before tomato = traditional Bolognese - it tenderizes the meat.)
6 min · hands onLong simmer
Add crushed tomatoes and bay leaf and remaining salt and pepper and 1 cup water. Bring to a low simmer, cover with lid cracked open, and cook 45-60 min, stirring every 15 min, until thick, dark, and the fat pools on top. The longer the better.
45 min · hands offBoil pasta
About 12 min before the ragù is done, drop spaghetti into the boiling water and cook 1 min less than package. Reserve 1 cup pasta water before draining.
9 min · hands onMarry and finish
Remove bay leaf from ragù. Add drained pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water and toss vigorously 60 sec to coat. Off heat, stir in half the parmigiano. Plate, top with remaining cheese.
2 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Render 3 oz diced pancetta at step 1 before browning beef - adds smoky depth but recipe is no longer halal. Adds about 5 minutes.
Use 93/7 turkey and add 1 tbsp olive oil - leaner, milder, still works.
Sub 1 cup brown lentils and 8 oz finely chopped mushrooms; simmer time stays the same.
Toast bread, rub with garlic, drizzle olive oil - finish under broiler 90 sec. Adds about 8 minutes.
What keeps
Ragù keeps 5 days fridge / 3 months freezer - and tastes BETTER day 2. Make a double batch; freeze in pasta-portion containers.
Cook pasta fresh; reheat sauce on low with a splash of water.
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