Any good cooks out there, recipe help!

[Gigi89x]

Im a basic cook, i have a young DS so i look for cooking quick meals.

One of my regular meals is a spaghetti bolognese but its always tastes OK but not great 🤣

I normally add

Beef mince 500-750g
1 jar of passata 400g
Frozen Onions (does this impact the taste?)
2 teaspoons of Dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 beef stock cube
Shake of lea and Perrins

2 teaspoons of garlic granules
Salt and pepper

Any help on how to make a nice bolognese would be helpful😂 !! Without any red wine please!

add diced carrots
I usually put in way more spices that you but carrots will make a difference

What's wrong with it exactly

I think to have any decent flavour it’s best to leave it simmering as long as possible. I know you can have it ready really quickly but, for real depth of flavour, simmer it on low for a good couple of hours, just give it a stir occasionally.

agree with a long simmer
basil and cinnamon
mixed peppers, i use frozen,
celery,carrots
mushrooms.
garlic

How long do you cook it for? I leave mine gently bubbling basically all day.

If you need extra umami, marmite is good too.
I often use frozen onions, and I think that’s fine. But leeks are good if you have some.

Brown off the mince, then add the onions. Allow the water to bubble away before adding more ingredients or you're just boiling the mince.

Salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar. Makes a huge difference.

I’s add garlic and ginger.

Maybe a teaspoon of mixed spice and herbs instead of what you usually add.

I don’t usually measure stuff,I just gauge and adjust by taste

I'd use fresh herbs and garlic, and fresh onions too. Some red wine wouldn't go amiss either....

Substitute a frozen soffrito mix (onion, carrot, celery) for the onions.

throw in some anchovies for umami. They’ll melt and you won’t know they’re there.

A Parmesan rind will do the same thing. Fish it out at the end.

I make it all the time and I find Cajun is the secret ingredient here.
Stock cube
Onions
Mushrooms
Cajun powder/spice
Garlic granules
Lea n Perrins
Passata

Thank me later

I would chop, carrots, celery , onions & garlic and fry them off.
Add the meat until brown
Put some Italian mixed herbs
A tin of chopped tomatoes
Red wine, small amount
Tomato purée
Sugar 1 tsp if it tastes acidic or ( ketchup sometimes)
Towards the end I add a spoon of butter.

I start with two stalks of celery and two red onions which I soften in some olive oil for 10/15 mins along with two fat cloves of crushed garlic. I then add 1kg of beef mince. Brown that and then add herbs - thyme, rosemary, basil, pepper and celery salt. I then add four tins of chopped tomatoes, a tsp sugar, a big squirt of tomato puree and then the rind from parmesan. When we finish a block of parmesan I stick the rinds in a zip lock in the freezer. I then put it in the oven for approx 2-3hours and stir occasionally.

It could be technique rather than ingredients. Fry the onions until they are golden, then add the mince and fry until cooked. The add garlic, fry for 1 minute, then add salt, pepper any herbs etc before adding the passata.

Cook for an hour if possible.

I add balsamic vinegar to mine. Basil instead of oregano. Parsley is a bit of a weird herb to add to Bolognese. For me anyway but then I'm not a huge fan of it.

Agree with pps. Add more herbsand pinch of cinnamon.
1 tsp of oregano for that amount is nothing.
Brown the onion and meat well to get extra flavour. I add half a teaspoon of marmite when browning. Lots of mince has very little flavour nowadays and this helps to bring it up

Shove a spoonful of sugar in and after initially bringing to the boil on the stove top stick in the oven lid on, on low for at least an hour. Bacon lardons also help but not essential.

I would prob use fresh onions, unfortunately a bit more effort but will def add the flavour. Also use diced pancetta (buy the little cartons ready for cooking in the supermarket) or alternatively chop up a couple of slices of bacon.
First of all fry the mince really well until the water has gone and the mince is browned, put in a dish and set aside
Fry the pancetta/bacon until it's golden then add the raw onions to this, fry on a medium high heat until the onions are transparent (usually about 15 mins). Add small cubes of freshly chopped carrots (great for flavour and good way of getting the veggies in!). Once the carrots have softened, pop the mince back in and add the rest of your ingredients. Simmer for hours, this will help with the flavour and soften the mince. Remember to keep the lid off otherwise your bolognese will be watery.
Hope this helps, I've been making bolognese for years and years since my kids were toddlers!! It's a great meal to have ready in the eve!

Step away from the parsley! Use some tomato puree as passata on its own isn't rich enough. Bay leaf, fresh garlic and something smokey like bacon/pancetta or anchovies.

I always use wine. I'd do carrot, celery and onion (you can buy Fresh/frozen soffritto or make your own to dip into).

My favourite 'secret' addition to a ragu is nutmeg.

Ginger in a bolognese?

A little bit of wine or balsamic really does makes a big different. I put anchovies in mine (chopped up really finely), which raises it to another level. I know a lot of people don't like anchovies but the fishy taste is cooked off and you don't taste the anchovy.

You can't beat fresh ingredients though. Freshly chopped onions and garlic at the very least. Plus fresh carrots and celery.

Try adding some red wine?

Fresh garlic and the onions need to be cooked down long and slow. I mince mine rather than chop.

Once you add the passata then cook for ages - the longer the better.

maybe it’s the frozen onions?

I always add a teaspoon of Marmite and a splash of milk. I have to do both when nobody else is in the kitchen though because whenever they’ve detected me doing it, it provokes a bit of picking at food and really being able to taste it apparently. Funnily enough nobody has ever tasted it the other 1000 times I’ve put them in 🤷‍♀️

Chicken livers are my secret weapon for a bolognese. They add a lovely depth and creaminess.

Also use tomato puree, bay leaf, red wine and a pinch of sugar.

Cook everything low and slow