Bolognese sauce
Bolognese sauce, known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese or ragù bolognese (called ragù in the city of Bologna, ragó in Bolognese dialect), is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine, typical of the city of Bologna. It is customarily used to dress tagliatelle al ragù and to prepare lasagne alla bolognese.
Tagliatelle al ragù | |
| Alternative names | Ragù, ragù alla bolognese |
|---|---|
| Type | Sauce |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Bologna |
| Main ingredients | Ground meat (beef or veal, pork), soffritto (celery, carrot, onion), tomato paste, wine (usually white), milk |
Italian ragù alla bolognese is a slowly cooked meat-based sauce, and its preparation involves several techniques, including sweating, sautéing and braising. Ingredients include a characteristic soffritto of onion, celery, and carrot, different types of minced or finely chopped beef, often alongside small amounts of fatty pork. White wine, milk, and a small amount of tomato paste or tomato sauce are added, and the dish is then gently simmered at length to produce a thick sauce.
Outside Italy, the phrase "Bolognese sauce" is often used to refer to a tomato-based sauce to which minced meat has been added; such sauces typically bear little resemblance to Italian ragù alla bolognese, being more similar in fact to ragù alla napoletana from the tomato-rich south of the country. Although in Italy ragù alla bolognese is not used with spaghetti (but rather with flat pasta, like tagliatelle), "spaghetti bolognese" has become a popular dish in many other parts of the world.