AIBU to ask how you make your spag Bol?

[Aberforthsgoat]

I make my own sauce with chopped tomatoes, garlic etc cook the mince in it, make some
Pasta or courgetti and done.
Friend just told me I should cook the mince slowly for ages - hours - add red wine and a grating of dark chocolate. I’m not going to be doing that any time soon as I’m pregnant and have to work quick in the non queasy window but it’s got me wondering - is slow cooking for hours the norm?!
Have I been doing it wrong all this time?

the pasta shape is surely whatever you want. I prefer flat shapes like tagliatelle or linguine to spaghetti, but spaghetti is fine.

I don't like "thicker" shapes like farfalle, penne, fusilli as much as thinner pastas.

It depends on time - the best results imho is to sauté onion, carrots and celery for an hour or so very low, set aside, brown mince, add the veg back with good quality chopped tomatoes, garlic and seasonings, cook low for as long as you have ideally at least 30 mins. If you can do this the night before or earlier in the day, refrigerate then reheat even better as the flavour matures

Definitely make the day before and simmer for ages!

Though dd rejects it even when I don't put wine in. Does anyone know how the average primary school does their bol as apparently that's yummy?

Another vote for Delia's recipe. Slow cooked until it's super concentrated. You don't need much, but's it's a small taste of heaven.

Surely if you leave something simmering for hours you must have to start with tons of liquid otherwise it would boil away and be completely burned onto the bottom of the pan.
I realise you don't have to constantly stir, but you must have to keep an eye on it. If I simmer something for 20 minutes without stirring it would be sticking at the bottom.

Henderson’s Relish is a must!

Sweat the onions and garlic for 20 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the mince, stir until it's changed colour. You can add a glass of red wine at this point, reducing it by half. Add the tomatoes and a good squeeze of tomato puree. Crumble in a stock cube. Add a teaspoon of basil, one of oregano and 3 bay leaves. Dash of Worcester sauce, 20 peppercorns crushed coarsely, and a couple of cardamom pods. Simmer for an hour.

By simmering I mean it should bubble once per second. Also use a good green olive oil.

I cook it all day at the weekend. I start in the morning and we eat it late evening and the following day.

Celery
Onion
carrot
Garlic
Fennel seeds
Pancetta
Chicken livers
Beef and pork (not usually mince)
Wine
Stock
Bay leaves
Tomato puree
Parmesan rind
Milk
Parsley
Basil at the end

The vegetables are cooked very slowly, the meats browned quickly then simmer with the liquid ingredients/aromatics for hours.