A UK food writer has been blasted after he posted the "easy" steps for his version of a popular recipe only to be told he was getting it wrong. Adam Pollock posted on X, formerly Twitter, the simple way to make a Bolognese sauce.
Posting step by step pictures he told followers: "Bolognese is the most iconic Italian pasta dish, and it tastes so beautiful. Fortunately, it’s very easy to make!"
He spelled out the ingredients and then took followers through a series of instructions telling them how to prepare, cook and serve the dish. But alongside many thankful comments from people keen to give it a go there were numerous ones telling him his recipe - and serving method - were inaccurate.
The dish, which is cheap and easy to make, is popular in the UK where many believe it is an Italian staple. However in Italy it is known as ragu alla bolognese or just ragu.
And it wasn't long before Italians took to the social media site to point out their version of the dish and tell him he was wrong. Elena told him: "Many mistakes! 1) Vegetables ( no garlic ) are fried before to add beef +pork minced meat ( 3/1) No pancetta ! when meat is cooked add wine, let dry, then tomato passata ( no tomatoes pieces or paste ). Gently cook at lowest power for 3 hours with a lid and stir it."
Valerio said: "You're using too much carrot, onion and celery: the proportion are completely wrong, you're doing a vegetable ragù with a hint of meat. And by the way both garlic and parsley are a crime."
And others said in Italy it was not even considered a Bolognese. Guido said: "Sweet Jesus, again, is not Bolognese, in Italy. if you ask for Bolognese you might end with a Mortadella slice. 'Ragù alla Bolognese" is called."
Pietro said: "This is not an authentic bolognese. No milk, no pancetta and no parmesan crust." And thomas said: "Although this looks delicious, bolognese doesn’t really exist in Italian cuisine. A bit like tikka masala doesn’t exist in India. There is pasta Ragu. But that’s rather different."
Maria added: "Please do not say this is an Italian dish. It is probably tasty, but Bolognese sauce does not exist in Italy and Ragu differs from your recipe." Ellef said: "No. This is plain wrong The vegetables, “sofrito” goes in first. And no garlic!!!"
Giacomo agreed saying: "Noo my friend nooo you got the order completely wrong, and the pancetta, I mean, wow that takes guts. I like your content my friend but this is not how you do it."
Adam, a food writer and photographer based in Northern Ireland, has written three food books. His latest is called Sustenance and available from Amazon.
Defending the recipe he told objectors said he was sharing "the official" one. And he told them what is "viewed as 'tradition' differs a lot between places and times".
And many followers loved his recipe pledging to "give it a go". Mimi said: "Mouth watering!" Mary said: "This looks divine, I was using a similar recipe but didn’t realise it needed to be cooked for so long, also love the tip about the cheese rind." and Zmus decided: "That’s settled then. I’m making bolognese tonight."
Adam's recipe
Ingredients
- 1kg ground beef,
- 100g pancetta,
- 2 celery stalks,
- 2 large carrots,
- 1 brown onion,
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 can of plum tomatoes,
- some tomato paste,
- parmesan,
- bay leaves,
- pasta
- wine
- beef stock
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Method
- Firstly, do your prep work! Peel and chop the vegetables and set them aside. You can mix the carrot, onion & celery in a bowl but keep the garlic separate.
In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, add a little olive oil and the pancetta. Once the pancetta is cooked, add in the beef and let it cook too. Try and break the beef down as much as you can while doing this.
Then, pour in a little wine, maybe 100ml. It can be red or white, it doesn’t matter. Cheap wine is fine, as long as it is not too sweet like many cheap new world wines tend to be. Let this simmer until the alcohol has evaporated, around 10 minutes.
Next, add the carrot, celery & onion and a big pinch of salt and mix together. Let this cook until the onion has turned translucent and everything smells good, about 12 minutes. Then, add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Once the vegetables smell lovely, add in around a tablespoonful of tomato paste and mix this thoroughly into the meat and vegetables. Let it cook for about two minutes.
Next, add the can of peeled plum tomatoes. Once added, swish a little water around the can to rinse it and pour this liquid into the pot, too – no point wasting it! Mix everything together and squish any tomato pieces, and let this cook for a further two minutes.
After this, add around 250ml of good quality beef (or chicken) stock and mix together. You don’t want there to be a huge amount of liquid, just enough to let the magic happen. Once added, turn the heat down to low.
Once the stock has been added, throw in your bay leaves. If you have some leftover rinds from Italian hard cheese, put these in too as they give great flavour. Now, importantly, leave it alone! Check the food every half hour and give it a stir, but it needs time now.
After a couple of hours on low heat, the sauce should be at this consistency. Remove the bay leaves & cheese rind. Fill another pot with water and put it on to boil. Once boiling, add your pasta. Traditional bolognese is made with fresh egg pasta, but dried pasta is good too.
Once the pasta has almost finished cooking, take a mug and scoop up a little of the pasta water. This will help the sauce emulsify in a couple of minutes.
Once the pasta has cooked, remove everything from the heat. Strain the pasta before adding it back to the saucepan. Then, add a couple of ladles of the meat sauce, a splash of the reserved water, and mix everything thoroughly together. You did it!
Now you’re ready to serve! Serve in warmed bowls with some freshly grated parmesan and perhaps a little parsley if you like. Enjoy!
