Spaghetti bolognese, often referred to as “spag bol” in the UK and Australia, is a popular pasta dish outside Italy, although it is not traditionally part of Italian cuisine. The dish is generally perceived as inauthentic by Italians. The origins of the Bolognese ragù, which is the sauce used in spaghetti bolognese, are related to the French ragout, a stew of ingredients reduced to small pieces that became popular in the 18th century.

The earliest documented recipe for a ragù served with pasta dates to the end of the 18th century in Imola, near Bologna, from Alberto Alvisi, the cook of Cardinal Barnaba Chiaramonti, who later became Pope Pius VII. In 1891, Pellegrino Artusi published a recipe for a ragù characterized as bolognese in his cookbook. Artusi’s recipe called for lean veal filet, pancetta, butter, onion, and carrot, with no tomatoes included.

The Italian Academy of Cuisine registered an official recipe for ragù alla bolognese with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 1982, highlighting its importance and popularity. Despite its Italian roots, the dish as known today, especially with spaghetti, is more of an adaptation popularized outside Italy.

There are a lot of recipes that you can find, from others that claim to be the most authentic (and complex) to the quick-and-easy ones, but this one from the Modern Proper has been my go-to recipe, as it’s very close to what I prefer to cook my spaghetti Bolognese.

With a few tweaks however, I use spaghetti noodles rather than wide noodles like the pappardelle or tagliatelle. I use tomato passata rather than the marinara because the tomato passata has no other ingredients such as some spices and basil added to it. I sometimes add heavy cream, but almost everyone at home prefers to have none. Fun fact, I notice that here in Belgium, most people prefer to put lots of grated cheese over their spaghetti, and further with different kinds, usually a choice between grated parmesan, cheddar and Emmenthal.