Bolognese Sauce

• Prep15 min
• Cook1 h 15 min
• Total1 h 30 min
• Serves6

Ingredients

Sauce

• 80 g carrot, in pieces (1 medium)
• 60 g celery, in pieces (1 stalk)
• 120 g yellow onion, halved (1 small)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 40 g olive oil (3 tbsp)
• 450 g ground beef, 85% lean (1 lb), or half beef and half ground pork
• 120 g whole milk (1/2 cup)
• 120 g dry red wine (1/2 cup)
• 400 g crushed tomatoes (1 2/3 cups, about half of a 28 oz can)
• 30 g tomato paste (2 tbsp)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 bay leaf

To serve

• 60 g Parmesan cheese, in pieces (2 oz)
• 450 g spaghetti or tagliatelle (1 lb)
• 1 tbsp salt, for the pasta water

Instructions

1. Place the Parmesan in the clean, dry mixing bowl and grate 10 sec/speed 10. Transfer it to a small bowl for serving.
2. Place the carrot, celery, onion and garlic in the mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 5. Scrape down the sides with the spatula.
3. Add the olive oil and sauté 8 min/120°C (250°F)/speed 1, until the vegetables are soft and sweet.
4. Add the ground beef in small pieces. Place the simmering basket on the lid instead of the measuring cup and brown 8 min/160°C (320°F)/reverse/speed 1, breaking up any big lumps with the spatula halfway through.
5. Add the milk and cook 5 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft, until it is almost absorbed. Add the wine and cook 5 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft, until most of it has cooked off.
6. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, nutmeg and bay leaf. With the simmering basket still on the lid, cook 45 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft. Check halfway: if it looks dry, add 50 to 100 g (1/4 to 1/3 cup) of water.
7. About 15 minutes before the sauce is done, cook the pasta on the stove in a large pot of boiling water with 1 tbsp of salt, following the package. Save 120 g (1/2 cup) of the pasta water, then drain.
8. Remove the bay leaf and taste the sauce for salt. Toss the drained pasta with half of the sauce and a splash of the pasta water, divide it among shallow bowls and top with the rest of the sauce and the grated Parmesan.

Tips

• No wine? Use the same amount of beef broth plus 1 tsp red wine vinegar for a similar tang. The wine simmers a long time, but some alcohol can remain, so choose the broth version for kids or anyone who avoids alcohol.
• Make it ahead: the sauce keeps 4 days in the fridge and freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.
• Tagliatelle, pappardelle and rigatoni hold this thick sauce even better than spaghetti. For lasagna alla bolognese, layer it with lasagna noodles, béchamel sauce and Parmesan.