Cook Like an Italian: My Go-To Ragù alla Abruzzese

My Nonna taught me how to cook some of her recipes and that Italian cooking is not just about following a recipe; it is about creating a culinary experience. I’m going to share my go-to spaghetti “sauce” recipe.

So, get ready to cook like an Italian and add some Italian magic to your next meal!

The Recipe

Every Italian will argue that their ragù is the best. This is my version of my Nonna’s – and the best! – recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 sticks of celery, diced
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• Bay leaf
• 500g (1.1lb) beef (or veal) mince
• 500g (1.1lb) pork mince
• 3- 5 tbsp tomato paste (approx. half a jar)
• 1 800g (1.75lb) tin tomatoes (or 2 400g / 14oz tins)
• 1 800g (1.75lb) jar of tomato passata (puréed, strained uncooked tomatoes)
• Glass (or two) of wine (red or white, your choice)
• Vegetable stock (or water)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sugar

Guide

1. Dice the onions, carrots, and celery – I run them through my food processor … who wants to waste time crying while chopping onions!
2. Crush the garlic cloves (while I don’t run them through my food processor, the trusty garlic press comes out!)
3. Fry the onions, carrots, and celery (adding salt and pepper as you go, go lightly here!) with the bay leaf and fry off over a medium heat for 5 or 6 minutes.
4. Add the garlic to the sofrito (onions, carrots, and celery), stirring for another couple of minutes.
5. Turn the heat up to high, add the mince to the sofrito, and brown it off, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Once the mince is browned off, turn the heat down, add the wine (how much you add is up to you!) and simmer until the alcohol smell has cooked off. Once the wine has simmered off, cover the meat with vegetable stock (or water), and simmer until the stock has almost disappeared.
6. Once the meat and sofrito has simmered until the stock has almost disappeared, turn the heat back up and add in the tomato paste. Stir it through until the meat is covered and cook through for a few minutes.
7. Add the tinned tomatoes and the jar of passata and mix, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.
8. Fill the tomato tins and the passata jar about halfway with vegetable stock (or water) and pour the sauce into them.
9. Turn down the heat to the lowest and simmer for 2 to 3 hours, until the vegetable stock has reduced and the sauce has thickened.

During the simmering process, you’ll also need to taste it to see if it needs any sugar to counter the acidity of the tomatoes. Add about half a teaspoon of sugar at a time until the acidity doesn’t taste so… acidic anymore!

Not all ragùs are the same!

This is NOT a Bolognese! While both are ragùs, each region of Italy has its own version! My paternal grandparents (and my dad!) came from the Abruzzo region, about three and a half hours (by car) south of Bologna, the capital of Emilia-Romagna, where the Bolognese version originated.

Driving route from Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, to Pescara, Abruzzo (via Google Maps)

Both start with similar ingredients – onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, and meat – but Bolognese has milk to help tenderise the meat. Bolognese also has WAY less tomatoes in it. You’d basically cut out the tinned tomatoes and the passata from my recipe or only add a small (400 gram / 14 ounce) can of tinned tomatoes at most.

Both versions also usually have wine in them, with red wine being used for Bolognese and white wine used for Abruzzese (although I use either, whichever I have at the time). The one thing Nonna ALWAYS said to me about which wine to use was always use a good wine. If you wouldn’t drink it, DON’T PUT IT IN YOUR SAUCE!!!

Snags to avoid with ragùs

Cooking a ragù might seem simple, but a few things can make it go wrong! With the long simmer time, burning the bottom of the sauce makes it bitter. You’ll have to watch the heat of your cooktop and stir regularly to stop it from catching on the bottom of the pot.

You also need to be careful with how much seasoning you add, especially the simmering stage. Because you add salt and pepper as you go, you have to taste it as it cooks so you don’t over-season or under-season it.

You may also need to adjust how many carrots or celery sticks you use in your sofrito, depending on the size of your onion. There should be equal amounts of onion, carrot and celery.

If you want to add extra herbs to your ragù, the herbs you use make a difference to when you add them. If you want to add woody herbs – like thyme, oregano, or rosemary – add them when you add the garlic to cook them out properly. If you’re going to add woody herbs – like parsley or basil – add them very close to the end of the simmer so they don’t burn or overcook them.

Also, don’t rush the process. Ragùs require time to develop its full flavour. Resist the temptation to cut the simmering time. Allowing the sauce to simmer for several hours ensures a bigger flavour!

Which pasta?

Nonna would use a flat wide pasta (like tagliatelle, pappardelle or fettuccine) or a round pasta (penne or rigatoni). Wider pasta is better to catch it! Or she’d use it in her lasagne. I like it on toast!

The pasta should be cooked al dente – or “to the tooth” – meaning it’s slightly firm, chewy, and not mushy. If you’re using dried pasta, cut the cooking time by 1 minute on the packet. I remember one time I overcooked the pasta, Nonna threw it out and I had to start again! I never made that mistake again! (Insert raucous laughter here!)

Final thoughts

I hope you like my version of ragù alla Abruzzese and find inspiration to embrace Italian culinary traditions! Cooking like an Italian is about more than just the ingredients and techniques – it’s about embracing a way of life centred around food. It’s about savouring every bite.

Thank you for joining me on this culinary adventure. I hope you enjoy the secrets of my Nonna’s ragù as much as I have enjoyed sharing them with you.

So, gather your ingredients, fire up the stove, and let your creativity lead the way.

Until next time, buon appetito!