Bolognese Gravy
- Tracy Scheckel
- Sep 24
- 4 min read
Bolognese gravy (I say gravy because of an abundance of meat and meat fat), -- you guessed it -- originates in Bologna, Italy and it typically a soffritto of finely chopped onion, celery, and carrot, along with ground meat (beef, pork, veal, or a combination), pancetta, white wine, milk, and a minimal amount of tomato.
What's a soffritto you ask? Soffritto, is an Italian flavor base made from finely diced onions, carrots, and celery, slowly cooked.
My version of Bolognese has evolved to include minced mushrooms, bacon (when I can't find pancetta), and red wine. Mine is also more tomato-heavy which I've learned is typical of an Americanized version. I have also changed up the cooking order and get the same results with less fuss.
Traditionally to make the soffritto, you saute the minced vegetables in butter or olive oil until they are very soft and almost pureed, then add the meats to brown. I have experimented with starting the process with the meat and adding the vegetables as each is diced. Once the meat is browned and the veggies have had time to soften, I take a potato masher to the mix and ultimately get that nice smooth texture.
The herbs and spices in Bolognese are a bit different too. In addition to the more widely used garlic, basil, oregano, black pepper and fennel, Bolognese incorporates nutmeg, cinnamon, and flaked hot pepper.
Interestingly, my great-grandmother Dora used cloves in her gravy, and her roots were in Naples, so an interesting similarity between regions. For this batch, I kind of cheated because my daughter for Christmas one year gave me a spice-of-the-month subscription and I had a package of Bolognese spice blend kicking around. But, to that I added some clove and, thanks to an article I recently read, some cocoa powder.
Before I head down the cocoa powder rabbit hole, feel free to skip to the recipe.
Somewhere in my daily Google news feed, there was an article from Tasting Table about a secret ingredient that some folks are adding to their pasta sauce. Clicking there sure beat the doom scrolling that is usually my morning routine. Turns out the secret ingredient is cocoa powder. Since that article landed within 24 hours of my Bolognese plans, I decided to give it a try: compared to coffee (you need to read the article) it seemed like a good idea. And, while I couldn't pick out the individual cocoa taste, it did add depth of flavor and a richness to the gravy.
Typically, I like the Bolognese served over rigatoni or other weighty pasta like gnocchi or pappardelle that can stand up to the thickness of the gravy. The day I made this batch, in lieu of pasta, I decided to make a simple baked polenta (with caramelized onions and topped with fresh tomato slices and parmesan) and that did not disappoint!
There is no point in making a small batch of this recipe, so have some 1-quart freezer containers on hand. Once the gravy is ready for the addition of the cream, before adding it, fill each container with 3C of the Bolognese, label them and when cooled place in the freezer. When you're ready to use them, simply thaw, heat and add some cream.
THE RECIPE:
1LB each bacon, sweet sausage meat
1/2 LB each, ground beef, pork, and veal
Note: Any combination of meats work, but these are my preferred. I have used duck and venison which are also good.
2 large onions minced
3 large celery stalks minced
4 large carrots minced
2C chopped mushrooms
1T minced fresh garlic
1C dry red wine (more traditional recipes use white, but I like the body of the red)
1t each nutmeg, cinnamon,crushed pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic powder and fennel seed (or 2T of a Bolognese spice blend) like I used)
1T basil, oregano, cloves, and cocoa powder
3 - 28 OZ cans of crushed tomatoes
Cream or milk for finishing
Grated parmesan cheese for serving
Cut the bacon into 1/2" pieces (I like scissors for this).
Place the bacon pieces in the bottom of a large stock pot (the rendering fat additional olive oil.
Place the other meats on top of the bacon covered on low heat and allow to simmer stirring often while you chop up the vegetables.
Add each vegetable once it's chopped and stir into the meat mixture.
When all of the vegetables have been added keep the pot covered, stir often and allow the mixture to simmer and reduce and the vegetables to soften.
Use a potato masher to break up any ground meat chunks and to smooth out the moisture.
Stir in the wine and simmer for a few minutes
Add the crushed tomatoes.
Add in the herbs and spices (and cocoa powder if you're of the mind) and stir until completely combined.
Simmer covered on low heat for 3 to 4 hours stirring occasionally or frequently (depending on how low your burner goes) to keep it from sticking.
When ready to serve, stir in the milk or cream until heated but not boiling.
NOTE: After filling 4 containers for freezing, I had about 5 cups of gravy left to which Ia dded about 3/4 cup of heavy cream when it was time to serve.
I skipped the Parmesan when serving because the polenta was very Parmesan forward with a couple of cups either in the mix or sprinkled on top before I baked it.
