Ragú

ragú the true name for the Bolognese sauce which has acquired international currency, especially in Spaghetti alla bolognese. In Bologna, the home of this sauce, it was first used for a baked pie of lasagne, not as the sauce for spaghetti or other pasta asciutta which is its commonest form today. The original ragú was made without benefit of the meat mincer, and the meat was chopped into smallish chunks. Nor did it contain tomato, which did not arrive in Italy from America until later, and even then was only grudgingly accepted; even now a correct ragú bolognese has only a light tomato flavour.