Ragù alla Bolognese

Ragù alla Bolognese. Yes. The real one. Not with minced meat, but with good, slow cooked beef. This recipe takes some time, but it's plenty to feed a big family (6 to 8 people). I just freeze the sauce per portion. Ingredients: • 800 gram beef for stew • 200 gram pancetta (or bacon) • 2 white onions • 5 garlic cloves • 2 large carrots • 2 large sellery stalks • 2 tbsp flour • 2 cans tinned tomatoes • 4 tbsp tomato puree • 250 ml red wine • 400 ml milk • salt and pepper • 4 bay leaves • 4 stalks fresh oregano • 2 tbsp dried basil • 1. Start with cutting your vegetables. I finely diced my onion and garlic and grated the carrots and seller stalks. Set aside and cut you pancetta into small strips and the beef in large chunks (the beef will fall apart in the end, so no need to cut it any smaller. I made chunks about 6x6cm). 2. Get a little bit of oil and fry your pancetta in a cast iron pan. Once they start to brown, scoop them out, but leave the fat in the pan. 3. Fry your onion and garlic in the pork fat. Do the same when it starts to get golden brown, scoop out of the pan and safe the fat. Add a little extra oil if needed. 4. Cover the beef in the flour and some salt and pepper. Throw into the pan and sear until nice and brown. Add the tomato puree and stir well. 5. Add the onion and pancetta back into the pan with the beef and add all the other ingredients (yes, actually really all of them, doesn't matter in which order). 6. Let the whole thing stew for 4 hours or until the meat starts to fall apart. If you find any big chunks, pull them apart with two forks. If the meat is really sift you can actually just push it with a spoon and it will fall apart. Ragù alla Bolognese should officially be eaten with fresh tagliatelle, but I used plain old spaghetti. Last but not least: be careful with the salt! There is plenty of salt in the pancetta, so taste before you add any salt at any stage of the process. Enjoy!