to never go back to making my own sauce, or ask you how..?

[chasingtherainbow]

I've always cooked as much as possible from scratch (this is not a debate as to what qualifies as from scratch!)

So whenever I make spag bowl, I make my own sauce. It's always tasted good and we enjoy it.

However I've been poorly and dh did the food shopping. I requested some cheats to make life more manageable right now. He bought a waitrose tomato based sauce to use instead of making our own, and I have to admit it tasted way better now I don't want to go back! Even though I know my version is much healthier.

How do I make my sauce taste as good! Or wibu to continue to use this sauce from the fresh/chilled aisle and never tell anyone I can't help but think I'm going to be disappointed next time i make my boring in comparison own.

When I make my own I use: garlic Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, chopped basil leaves, peppers and onions, 2 crushed garlic cloves and Passata

where am I going wrong?

My ultimate bologneise is good stuff, if you can be arsed with all the steps. When I do it I really enoy it though, and it's so easy to jsut have int eh freezer.

I fry off off the onions, garlic, carrot and celery if I have any.
Put these in a bowls, then brown the mince WELL in batches.
Deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine and balsamic vinegar. return everything to the pan, and add pasatta, can of tomatoes, thyme and a bay leaf, and red wine (don't be shy), pepper, small glug worcester sauce. bring to the boil and leave for a long time, either very slow on the stove or in the oven - i usually go for at least 3 hours. Then on serving i add oregano, basil, more pepper and salt. and obviously parmesan. I also do huge batches.

I've heard about once you've browned the meat put in some milk until it evaporates but have never tried it - the people who add milk when and how much etc?

Careful about mentioning lentils BeCool unless you want the phrase 'fucking grim' thrown at you .

Carrots are quite sweet, so I wonder if they are what sugar replaces?

I use a simplified version of the Angela Hartnett recipe on this page. I just use mince and bacon if I have some as the meat component and simmer for an hour or two. Note the lack of any tomatoes except tomato puree.

Oh yeah, I also add a stock cube or even bisto (sshhhhh). If I have any, 1 or 2 anchovies at the sofrito stage is also really good - they completely break down and don't taste fishy at all.

Really, not one person adds chicken liver?

My dd uses a similar recipe to mine and makes it better than me. Dh reckons I use too much tomato.

Some great tips here. i agree about cooking for a goodly long time. My own tips...

add the rind of your last piece of parmesan for the long simmer - it adds a real depth of flavour

add full fat milk and many bay leaves for the last hour of simmering (amount depends on quantity of ragu)

cook the onions down for much longer than most recipes call for, only add garlic right at the end. Garlic cooks much faster. I always add half the chopped garlic towards the end of cooking these days.

I use very finely chopped chicken livers instead of/with the meat

I use chopped celeriac leaves instead of celery - I prefer the aromatic herby flavour.

It's a very forgiving dish in many respects, but decent meat and tomatoes will make a huge difference.

StickEm - When I do spagbog for kids (I did childcare so didn't want to go through their parents' wine!), I use marmite and brown sauce for depth (both veggy). The rest is the same, but I guess whatever you use instead of meat won't require such long cooking, but the sauce will. Instead of wine, I'd add some other herby bits, so boost the thyme, oregano, bay, really really go to town on sweating your sofrito etc. balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar to deglaze (I don't know if they are ok for you to use). I'd probably also add some fresh tomatoes t break down with your sofrito?

Big thumbs today, apologies for typos.

No probs.

'It's not a bloody competition'
You'd never know it from this thread.

As with everyone else, time time time time time time and time. Ragu sauce, which is the base for a bolognaise, is often cooked for 8 hours or more in Italy, and heated and reheated for several days...yes everyone will die from food poisoning i know, I'm not suggesting that but just explaining that time is the main element. It will turn from a dark red to a fairly vivid orange and 'pebbledash' your hob but it is so worth it. It is like a completely different animal, you won't believe the difference. Because it is so time consuming I always make a massive batch and freeze.

Also the soffito base, had no idea that's what it was called, but it's what I put in. I really caramelise my onions for ages as well. I'm veggie and use Quorn or meat free mince, but add a whole bottle of red to my 'massive' batch. Really, experimenting with extras, like marmite or tom ketch, worcestershire sauce will help you find you and your families favourite, but basically don't skimp on the time. And I am totally confident that you can make something ten times better than any jar.

And for what it's worth, loads of folks eat mine and don't have a clue there's no meat in it, so it definitely isn't the quality of the meat that makes the difference!

Haven't read the replies (and I really should on a thread like this but I am pushed for time).

But I learned at college with tomato based sauces - a teaspoon or two of sugar helps balance acidity. Slow cooking - remember the tomatoes are raw (sort of) at canning or tetra packaging process. So low heat for a time. Add olive oil. Bubble away very slowly. Your herb and other blend sounds good for your palette. Probably no help and nothing others haven't said but like I said, and I apologise, that I haven't read the replies.

I always do the celery in the blender so it's basically diced!

Also add thyme, rosemary and basil. Tinned tomatoes rather than passata and a couple of fresh tomatoes thrown in whole.

And simmer for an hour!

Also (bet its been said) if you start it off (start ANYTHING OFF not just this) with a soffrito its better than just onions, you can always pass it through a sieve if you can be arsed, if not go rustic.

A proper spag Bol should just have tomato purée. Pas says or tinned tomatoes make it watery.

This link suggests otherwise Bodicea

I'd imagine there is much debate amongst Italians about the correct way to make it.

Pft, that link is wrong too

(No chicken liver, yet again)

I so agree with the others about time. I have a huge pot and make 30 portions at a time which I freeze. I cook my sauce for at least 3-4 hours. The suace changes dramatically in thet time.Any shorter cooking than 90 minutes is a waste of good ingredients.

could you let me know the sauce you bought as I would like to try it. thankyou

I used to be married to a fckin asshole Italian American. Sauce I can do :o

Saute finely chopped onion and bell pepper in olive oil till soft ( bell pepper is optional,works as well without )

Add loads chopped garlic,huge handful dried basil and some dried chili flakes. Simmer a couple mins till garlic,just starts to cook ( dont brown the garlic,it changes the taste)

Add big can crushed tomatoes and about 1/3 can water if you like a thinner sauce. Can thin with red wine if you would rather

Add sugar to taste and 1/2 a veggie stock cube. Simmer gently for at least an hour. Adjust herbs etc to taste.

If you use oregano cook it longer,it will be bitter otherwise.
I often put pork bones in it when Im cooking,pork makes sauce taste awesome.

Bay leaf makes all the difference, on the occasions I have forgotten to put one in, we have all agreed that the sauce wasn't as good.

Hate the thought of chicken liver, I just imagine them to be full of toxins.

Go easy on the dried herbs - I'd go as far as to say drop the bloody things as they are awful, but I'll be accused of being a food snob...which is fine by me.

Serin - I agree...I only use chicken livers when I can get organic free range ones, otherwise I leave them out. We have a farm nearby which sells them, but Waitrose also has them in usually.

I used to be a bit reluctant to use dried herbs too, until I started to grow and dry my own. I now think oregano, thyme and sage are fine dried. I wouldn't use dried basil or rosemary, mind.