And all of this in under 60 minutes, with enough for this weekend’s dinner and also enough to store in jars in the refrigerator for another dinner or two, because this is a simplified version of a 6-hour «ragù alla bolognese» that uses only one type of meat this time, but still packs immense flavour because of the mushrooms and other special additions !
It's a recipe for a smaller quantity when compared to my older reinterpretation of a traditional «ragù alla bolognese» (see the recipe here) because it uses only ground beef and no additional meats like ground pork, sausages, bacon, chicken livers and bone marrow, but the large amount of cooked mushrooms as well as the marmite yeast extract and the anchovies and the parmesan rind all add enormous depth to this simpler yet hearty sauce.
The secret to any bolognese meat sauce for pasta, whether complex or simple is the caramelizing, achieved by the dairy additions, whether heavy cream, evaporated milk or thick crème fraiche, that you add little by little and stir until a searing sound can be heard and then you start over again several times. This activation of the sugars is what defines a ragù and/or bolognese sauce and it works here too.
The sauce version is brighter and redder than a traditional ragù sauce which is drier and browner, because more crushed tomatoes are used during the cooking and also because additional freshly chopped cherry tomatoes are tossed in, as the sauce is being re-heated before serving.
Please feel free to add up to 2 cups more (1,6 kg total) of crushed tomatoes for a more liquid sauce or 2 cups less (800 grams total) for a drier sauce (which is how i often prefer it), but this recipe version keeps it simple and is somewhat in between and uses a total of 1,2 kg of crushed tomatoes.
It’s a personal and simpler approach to a complicated sauce.
Perhaps you’ll be motivated to give it a try before you move on to the 6-hour version, one day ?! … :)
