Bolognese sauce (UKˌbɒləˈneɪz,-ˈnɛz, USˌboʊlənˈjeɪz,-ˈniz; known in Italian as ragù alla bolognese, raˈɡu alla boloɲˈɲeːze, -eːse, ragù bolognese, or simply ragù) is a meat-based sauce in Italian cuisine, typical of the city of Bologna. It is customarily used to dress tagliatelle al ragù and to prepare lasagne alla bolognese.
Italian ragù alla bolognese is a slowly cooked meat-based sauce, and its preparation involves several techniques, including sweating, sautéing and braising. Ingredients include a characteristic soffritto of onion, celery and carrot, different types of minced or finely chopped beef, often alongside small amounts of fatty pork. White wine, milk, and a small amount of tomato paste or tomatoes are added, and the dish is then gently simmered at length to produce a thick sauce.
Outside Italy, the phrase "Bolognese sauce" is often used to refer to a tomato-based sauce to which minced meat has been added; such sauces typically bear little resemblance to Italian ragù alla bolognese, being more similar in fact to ragù alla napoletana from the tomato-rich south of the country. Although in Italy ragù alla bolognese is not used with spaghetti (but rather with flat pasta, like tagliatelle), so-called "spaghetti bolognese" has become a popular dish in many other parts of the world.
The origins of the Bolognese ragù are related to those of the French ragoût, a stew of ingredients reduced to small pieces, which became popular in the 18th century.
The earliest documented recipe for a ragù served with pasta comes from late 18th century Imola, near Bologna, from Alberto Alvisi, cook of the local Cardinal Barnaba Chiaramonti, later Pope Pius VII.
In 1891 Pellegrino Artusi published a recipe for a ragù characterized as bolognese in his cookbook. Artusi's recipe, which he called "maccheroni alla bolognese", is thought to derive from the mid 19th century when he spent considerable time in Bologna (maccheroni being a generic term for pasta, both dried and fresh). The sauce called for predominantly lean veal filet along with pancetta, butter, onion, and carrot.