Best bolognaise recipe?

[morningpaper]

What's your best bolognaise recipe for spag bol?

Delia's sounds nice but takes 4 days a paid staff of 6.

[suzywong]

I have a wonderful one
but as an old girl on MN I have noticed that the second poster on any thread is never noticed so I shall hold fire

[MrsBadger]

Mary Berry, but double the veg quantities.
Still takes a while though - we only ever cook it at the weekend and reheat if we want it on a weekday.

[suzywong]

come on MP aren't you going to twist my arm???

[shellybelly]

I loosely base mine on sophie grigsons basic mince recipe and I have to say its very very moreish and by adding it to my slow cooker and leaving to cook for hours its absolutely scrummy

[morningpaper]

ok suzy I'm drooling

let me have it

I've started cooking onions already ...

[hoxtonchick]

nigel slater's one in the food diaries

[hoxtonchick]

Ragu Bolognaise

50g butter
70g cubed pancetta
a medium onion
2 fat cloves of garlic
a carrot
2 stalks of celery
2 large flat mushrooms - about 100g
2 bay leaves
400g minced beef or lamb
200ml crushed tomatoes or passata
200ml white wine
200ml stock
a nutmeg
200ml full-cream milk or cream

To serve: tagliatelle for 4

Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan - I use one of cast iron, about 24cm in diameter, then stir in the pancetta and let it cook for five minutes or so, without colouring much. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onion and garlic and stir it into the pancetta, followed by the carrot and celery, scrubbed and finely chopped. Lastly, finely chop the mushrooms and add to the pan, then tuck in the bay leaves and leave to cook for 10 minutes over a moderate heat, stirring frequently.

Turn up the heat and tip in the meat, breaking it up well with a fork. Now leave to colour without stirring for 3 or 4 minutes, then, as the meat on the bottom is starting to brown, stir again, breaking up the meat where necessary, and leave to colour.

Mix in the tomato, wine and stock and a grating of nutmeg, salt and pepper, letting it come to the boil. Turn the heat down so everything barely bubbles. Partially cover with a lid and leave to putter away for a good hour to an hour-and-a-half, stirring from time to time and checking the liquid levels. You don't want it to be dry.

Pour in the milk or cream a bit at a time, stir and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Check the seasoning, then serve with the tagliatelle and grated Parmesan. Serves 4.

[suzywong]

ok then
well.....
you will need to make a sofrito, so that's finely diced carrots and celery in to your sizzling onions and olive oil. Cook with the lid on for 5 minutes til soft.
Then throw in some minced garlic, salt and I always use dried herbs, what ever combination you prefer - I used the "Italian" ones.

Then you should drain a couple of cans of dices tomatoes and save the juice and throw in the meat, and some more oil as you are going to melt the tomatoes in to the oil.

meanwhile in another pan, quite a large one, heat some oil and fry til crips some good bacon or pancetta diced. When it's crispy add the beef and brown well.

Now add the meat to the vegetables along with a glass of red wine, some white pepper and some Lea and Perrins and a good dollop of tomato puree and the rest of the tomato juic. Mix well and simmer as long as you can

I finish it off with a tiny splash of single cream.


Thank you for pandering to my culinary ego

[morningpaper]

hmm WHITE wine eh nigel? a bit radical

[suzywong]

that should have been through in the meat of the tomatoes, not the minced beef.

hello hoxton chick

[morningpaper]

suzy thank you very much

I like the use of mucho olive oil - I will deffo glob loads of that in

what do you think is the best simmering time?

[morningpaper]

ah tnank you for clarifying that

[hoxtonchick]

hi suzy :). how are FBs?

you know what mp, i use red wine. maybe it's a typo (i cut&pasted it).

[morningpaper]

thanks all I shall begin my dinner now!

I went to a dinner party recently and was served Spag Bol with the sauce FROM A JAR

I was incredulous

[hoxtonchick]

[suzywong]

well tbh I think at least 40 minutes

just make sure you really separate the clumps of beef when you are browning it

I bloody love bolognaise sauce, I always make a vat of it to have in various ways at christmas, especially for my own xmas dinner.

boys are good HC, have lost your email,how are your one of each?
ANd how is your baby MP?


Cue "why is MN so cliquey these days?" thread

[NannyL]

This is my perfect bolognese recipeie

about 1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion and 1 big carrot finely chopped
1 normal size thing of mince (that COSTS about £2 / £2.50 depending where you buy it)
1 clove of crushed garlic
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
a squirt of garlic puree
a BIG squirt of heinz tomatoe ketchup
a little worcestor sauce
a little HP sauce
1/2 beef oxo cube

OPTIONAL other veg finely chopped depending on what we have: courgette / mushrooms are my fav, but i stick almost any other beg in if it needs using!

Heat oil.... soften the carrot and onion for about 5 mins... and the mince and brown and seperate it all...

then add all the other ingrediants and simmer gently for 20 minutes (and other vegetables about 5 mins before the end)

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[suzywong]

oxo cube, of course!
I forgot that

[LadyTophamHatt]

Mine is was taken from delia but i've added and taken stuff out so now it's nothing like it

1 or 2 Tbs Olive oil
1 onion
1 large clove of garlic
1 rasher of smoked bacon (or 2 streaky rashers)
Mince
1 courgette
Loads of mushrooms (sorry no idea how many or how much weight wise I use. But I use almost a whole packet os chestnut mushrooms if they are small)
1 tin of tomatoes
1 hefty squirt of tomato puree
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp oregano
pepper.

( I also add augbergine and carrot sometimes too)

Heat oil in sauce pan and add chopped onion. cook until just soft then add crushed garlic and chopped bacon.
Cook for few minutes.
Add mince and cook until just brown.
Add tinned tomatos and tomato puree.
Chop courgette (+ augbergine and carrot if used), mushrooms and chuck it all in.
Stir well and add herbs and pepper.
Cook with lid on for 30-40 mintes.

(keeping the lid on makes the sauce stay much wetter, if you prefer if drier cook with lid off)


This is the one meal I know all 3 Ds's will eat(although I still have to blend it down to a lump free sauce) so I add as many vegetables as possible.
Pointless fact about my Bolognese = I leave one mushroom whole to see whole gets it(although it can only be me or DH). A bit like half penny in the xmas pud

[ghosty]

Blimey ... your spag bol sounds so exotic ...
Mine is really simple but yummy ... and best if left to cool over night and eaten the next day ...
Am not going to post it because all of yours sound so posh that you might think mine is terrible

[LadyTophamHatt]

LOLOL...this is the most exotic meal I cook Ghosty, I wouldn't be too impressed!