An innocent Bolognese recipe has stirred up a storm on social media, as Italians critique its authenticity and criticise the food writer for getting the iconic dish ‘completely wrong’
A food writer has received heavy backlash after sharing his ‘easy’ Bolognese recipe.
Spag Bol is without a doubt one of the most popular dishes in the UK, but if you think you’d stumble on the renowned dish while holidaying in Italy – think again. This is because Italians refer to the meaty-tomato sauce we all know and love as Ragu, and each variation of this depends on the region. So, Ragu alla Bolognese means sauce from the town of Bologna.
Many suggest the dish we commonly refer to as Spaghetti Bolognese has been tweaked and renamed after Italian immigrants set up restaurants in the UK after the war – but it’s still a contentious subject, as food writer Adam James Pollock recently found out.
Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), the cook posted a recipe describing ‘Bolognese’ as the ‘most iconic Italian pasta dish’. In a post that has amassed a staggering 1.4 million views, Pollock shared his ingredients list, which featured 1kg ground beef, 100g pancetta, two large carrots, two celery stalks, a brown onion, three garlic cloves, a can of plum tomatoes, tomato paste, parmesan, bay leaves, pasta, wine, beef stock, olive oil and salt and pepper.
He then chopped and peeled his veggies before cooking the pancetta and adding in the beef over medium heat. Then, he added wine and let the meat simmer for ten minutes before adding in the veggies and seasonings. Pollock finished off the dish by adding the stock and allowing the sauce to cook for a few hours before adding a cup of pasta water and cooked pasta to the dish.
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However, it wasn’t long until he was hounded over the recipe – with many critiquing its authenticity. “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,” one user fumed.
Another agreed, commenting: “Sweet Jesus, again, [this] is not Bolognese, in Italy. If you ask for Bolognese you might end with a Mortadella slice.”
While a third added: “Noo my friend, nooo, you got the order completely wrong, and the pancetta, I mean, wow that takes guts. I like you content my friend but this is not how you do it.” A fourth raged: “This is not an authentic Bolognese. No milk, no pancetta and no parmesan crust.”
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