Ragú Bolognese

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 100 g minced pork, coarsely ground
• 100 g minced beef, coarsely ground
• 100 g bacon, finely diced
• 50 g chicken liver(s) or turkey liver, diced into approx. 1.5 cm cubes
• 750 ml red wine (e.g. high-quality Chianti)
• 800 ml beef stock
• 120 g onion(s), diced
• 120 g carrot(s), diced
• 120 g Celery, diced
• 1 small can of tomatoes (450 g), whole, peeled
• 150 ml cream
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 stalk(s) leek
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (high quality)
• 6 tbsp olive oil, strong, virgin
• 1 tbsp oregano, fresh or dried
• salt and pepper
• 1 clove(s) garlic

Instructions

Working time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

very tasty, but time-consuming

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the tough skin from the celery stalks. Peel the carrots and onions. Then cut into fine cubes (0.5 cm each) and place in a small bowl. Peel the garlic, finely chop, and add to the vegetables. The weight of the vegetables should now be the same as the minced meat. Remove the tomatoes from the can and quarter them lengthwise. Remove any remaining skin and stems, reserving the juice. Trim the leeks (remove the root and the dark green and upper white leaves) and tie them with kitchen string to make a bouquet garni with the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Season the minced meat with salt and pepper. Do not add salt to the liver, otherwise it will become tough! Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, high-sided pan and sear the meat until it is well browned. Important: The oil must not be too hot (smoky)! Once the bacon and minced meat are lightly browned, add the chicken livers and fry until lightly browned. Then remove the meat from the pan and keep warm. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, add the vegetables, and lightly roast them. Once the vegetables have browned, deglaze with the reserved tomato juice and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated. Tip: Instead of the tomato juice, you can also use a tablespoon of tomato paste, which you then roast with the meat. Roasting is very important here so that the acid in the tomato paste evaporates and the sugars it contains caramelize slightly – which is why all of the tomato juice boils away. Now add the tomatoes and meat and stir briefly, roughly breaking up the tomatoes with a spatula. Deglaze the pan with approx. 100 ml of red wine, scraping up any juices with a spatula. Then pour in the beef stock and red wine until the mixture is almost covered. Add the bouquet garni and simmer uncovered over very low heat for approx. 2 hours. Add beef stock and red wine occasionally, similar to a risotto. After 1 hour, add the cream. About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, add about 2 tablespoons of fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon of dried oregano). The ragú should now have a thick, creamy consistency. Finally, season with salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Serve the ragú with pasta. Tip: And since you’ve already gone to all this trouble to prepare it, you should either buy really good pasta or—even better—make it yourself.