Prince William shares the recipe for his homemade Bolognese sauce

Prince William’s Bolognese sauce: Duke of Cambridge shares recipe for classic Italian dish he used to ‘impress’ Kate Middleton while at university for homelessness charity cookbook

  • Prince William shared recipe for homemade Bolognese sauce for new cookbook
  • Duke of Cambridge revealed his take on classic Italian dish in A Taste Of Home
  • Includes 120 meals from the UK’s top chefs and celebrities to mark the 40th anniversary of homelessness charity The Passage

Prince William has shared the recipe for his homemade Bolognese sauce for a new charity cookbook.

The Duke of Cambridge, 38, revealed his take on the classic Italian dish in A Taste Of Home, which includes 120 meals from the UK’s top chefs and celebrities to mark the 40th anniversary of homelessness charity The Passage, The Sun reported.

Last year, the Duchess of Cambridge, also 38, confessed that Bolognese sauce was one of William’s speciality dishes and that he tried to woo her with his cooking skills while they were at University of St Andrews in Scotland, together.

Speaking to Mary Berry on A Berry Royal Christmas, the mother-of-three said: ‘In university days he used to cook all sorts of meals. I think that’s when he was trying to impress me! Things like Bolognese sauce.’

Prince William (pictured in 2019 helping at homelessness charity The Passage) has shared the recipe for his homemade Bolognese sauce for a new charity cookbook 

Revealed: Prince William’s Spaghetti Bolognese

(Serves four)

Ingredients: 

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 30g butter
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, scrubbed and chopped
  • 2 sticks of celery, chopped
  • 350g best quality lean beef
  • 250ml dry white wine
  • 120ml milk
  • Pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
  • 1 x 400g tin Italian chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp tomato purée
  • 250g spaghetti or bucatini
  • 50g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
  • 2 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley, salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

To make the sauce, heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion over a medium heat until just softened, then add the carrot and celery and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring.

Use a fork to crumble the mince and add that to the pan, stirring to mix all together. Cook until the meat is no longer pink but do not let it brown. Pour in the wine and continue cooking until it has all evaporated. Then turn down the heat and stir in the milk and nutmeg, and cook over a medium heat until the milk has evaporated. Stir through the tomatoes and purée then season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer very, very gently, uncovered, for about three hours, stirring from time to time.

When your sauce is ready, bring a big pot of water to the boil and add a teaspoon of salt. Add the pasta to the water, stir well with a wooden spoon and cook as per the packet instructions. Drain well. Divide the pasta between four bowls and add the hot sauce to each serving. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve the parmesan in a small dish. 

William, who is The Passage’s royal patron, admitted he wasn’t an ‘excellent chef’ but revealed his recipe because he believes ‘sharing makes people who are experiencing homelessness feel right at home’.

He  said: ‘I am the first to admit that I am not an excellent chef. The last time I was allowed into the kitchens at The Passage I made a spaghetti ­bolognese.’

‘What struck me the most was how sharing makes people who are experiencing homelessness feel right at home.’ 

The royal added: ‘Having a place to call home is ­precious… For those without a place to call home the ­pandemic has been even more frightening.’  

Last year, Kate revealed how William tried to woo her with his cooking skills while both studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

The Duke of Cambridge, 38, revealed his take on the classic Italian dish in A Taste Of Home (pictured), which includes 120 meals from the UK's top chefs and celebrities to mark the 40th anniversary of homelessness charity The Passage

The Duke of Cambridge, 38, revealed his take on the classic Italian dish in A Taste Of Home (pictured), which includes 120 meals from the UK’s top chefs and celebrities to mark the 40th anniversary of homelessness charity The Passage

William (pictured), who is The Passage's royal patron, admitted he wasn't an 'excellent chef' but revealed his recipe because he believes 'sharing makes people who are experiencing homelessness feel right at home'

William (pictured), who is The Passage’s royal patron, admitted he wasn’t an ‘excellent chef’ but revealed his recipe because he believes ‘sharing makes people who are experiencing homelessness feel right at home’

According to the duchess, her husband used to cook up ‘all sorts of meals’ in the kitchen in an attempt to win over her affections.

Speaking to Mary Berry on A Berry Royal Christmas, the mother-of-three confessed that Bolognese sauce was one of his speciality dishes.

‘In university days he used to cook all sorts of meals,’ she told the baking legend. ‘I think that’s when he was trying to impress me, Mary! Things like Bolognese sauce, and things like that.’

Asked if he cooks for her now, Kate replied: ‘He sometimes does actually – he’s very good at breakfast.’

Last year, the Duchess of Cambridge (pictured right), confessed to Mary Berry (pictured centre) on A Berry Royal Christmas, that Bolognese sauce was one of William's speciality dishes

 Last year, the Duchess of Cambridge (pictured right), confessed to Mary Berry (pictured centre) on A Berry Royal Christmas, that Bolognese sauce was one of William’s speciality dishes

These days it’s Kate who does most of the cooking at home, with William having previously admitted in the programme: ‘I can do tea, Mary, but not cooking. Catherine is definitely the one who cooks, not me.’

Prince William isn’t the only royal to venture into the world of cookbooks, with Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle, 39, having previously helped a charity with a similar venture.

In her first solo project as a member of the royal family in 2018, the Duchess of Sussex helped launch Together: Our Community Cookbook to support families affected by the Grenfell Tower inferno. 

The book features 50 of Meghan’s favourite recipes created by women from Grenfell’s ‘Hubb Community Kitchen’ in west London, set up in the wake of the devastating blaze in June 2017.