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!

I think one of the problems is that we've come to thinking it as a reasonably quick children's tea-which it can be. But then we taste one that's been made like a proper serious bit of cooking, and feel all dissatisfied with the quick version.

Agree with pp: teaspoon of marmite, half teaspoon of sugar and I'd let the onions sweat down to release the flavour. Also, be sure to brown the mince - get the max out of each ingredient 🙂

Carrot, celery, onion and garlic sautéed first. It needs to simmer for a long time - I also usually add around 50-100ml (depending how much I’m making) of whole milk, it gives a good rich creamy taste and balances the acidity of the tomatoes. A pinch of sugar (again to balance the tomatoes) and I also sometimes add a drizzle of balsamic at the end if I feel it’s missing something.

Also a sprinkle of gran pedano if I have it. Basically anything vaguely Italian goes in my bolognese 🥲

@Gigi89x it sounds like you aren't browning the onions for long enough, or simmering the dish for an hour or more. It's also better on the second day.

I think you'd like this book - Dear Francesca amzn.eu/d/9r1Kb1T - it's written by an Italian mother to her daughter and has loads of great tips. Like adding milk to the fried mince to make it less gritty and nutmeg. Very cheap, second hand. And lots of things that kids will like.