What I like most about Traditional Bolognese is that it works with all kinds of pasta. It’s a hardy but clean dish which brings together different flavours and textures. I tried many variations before I came up with this recipe. The prosciutto adds a nice note to it and makes your kitchen smell amazing. This Bolognese recipe will make it to the top of your favourite pasta dishes in no time!
SAUCE
4 tablespoons extra vigrin olive-oil
2 cans whole San Marziano tomatoes (796ml each or similar)
1 yellow onion (if small then use two)
2 celery sticks
2 carrots
100g Prosciutto
350g Ground beef
500ml beef stock
PASTA
300g double ’00’ flour (set some extra flour aside to roll out dough later)
3 eggs
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1/2 tablespoon salt (for pasta water)
TOPPINGS
Fresh basil
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
PASTA
1. Mix together wet ingredients with a fork (eggs, olive oil, water)
2. Put flour in a large mixing bowl and add wet ingredients
3. Knead for several minutes until smooth dough forms
4. Cover dough ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes
5. Dust a clean workspace and cut pasta dough into 8 equal pieces
6. Roll out dough pieces into 1/2 inch sheets (if not pasta maker is at hand and you’re making pasta by hand, skip step #7)
7. With pasta maker, first make thin pasta sheets (setting ‘3’ is recommended), then feed pasta sheets through fettuccini press
8. If you’re making pasta by hand, roll the dough pieces into really thin pasta sheets and cut fettuccini with the knife
9. If you’re cooking them within the hour: leave the fresh noodles on flowered parchment paper
If you’re cooking them later in the day: cover and store them in the fridge
If you’re cooking them on another day: put in tupperware/ziplock bags and freeze
SAUCE
1. Peel carrots and onion. Wash celery. Cut everything into small cubes
2. Cut prosciutto into small strips
3. Heat up olive oil in deep large frying pan (over medium heat) and add all cut ingredients (carrots, onion, celery, prosciutto)
4. Let cook until onions become glassy and brown a little bit (stir occasionally)
5. Add ground beef (pull apart with cooking spoon so no big junks are leftover)
6. Open cans of tomatoes (drain all the liquid to only end up with tomatoes)
7. Once ground beef is brown (but not burned) add the tomatoes
8. Cut each tomato into four pieces with your knife (this way all the inside juice comes out and won’t get lost if cut before adding to the pan)
9. Stir and let cook for a few minutes before adding the beef stock
10. Put on simmer and let cook for at least one hour or until most of the liquid has evaporated (you can choose how liquid or junky you want the sauce by the time you simmer it)
FINAL DISH
1. Add the salt into a large pot of boiling water and cook the pasta for a few minutes only (fresh pasta needs less time to cook than store-bought pasta)
2. Strain cooked pasta and drip a little olive oil on top (this prevents noodles from sticking)
3. Put pasta on plates, add bolognese sauce on top
4. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and freshly grated parmesan cheese