Help me make my spaghetti bolognaise a bit more tasty please.

[posey]

That's it really. It tends to be a bit bland at times and I'm not really sure why.
Can you help please?!

paprika or Tabasco

A tablespoon of red pesto and a dash of paprika does it for me.

I caramelise the onions. A splash of red wine helps too.

Longer, slower cooking in a low oven or slow cooker. Red wine, not water. Lots of garlic. Always, a tablespoon of sun dried tomato paste.

Fry bit celery, mushroom, carrot, onion. Then pancetta and pork mince. Lots & lots tomato puree, bit of chilli, seasoning. Add red wine, til evaporates a bit, then stock, bit more wine. Cook for as long as you can, then at end add dash of cream, cook few mins.

More seasoning. I always under-season, then I step back, channel Greg'n'John for a while, and lob more salt and pepper in.

Bacon
Lots of red wine (I do third of a bottle for 4 people portion)
Thyme, rosemary, garlic
Onion, carrots, mushrooms

Simmer for 2 hours.

Ooh brilliant, thank you very much for that help

lostlady,

You were doing well until you added the dash of cream. Chorizo is great for flavour too but again, that is largerly due to the paprika.

Lea and Perrins - works every time - and red wine and garlic.

You've just reminded me - we're having that for dinner tomorrow evening, so must defrost the mince!

Recipe here for the best bolognaise I've ever made. River Cottage recipe.
It's actually quite similar to what lostlady said, but milk instead of cream. Loads of tom puree.

Bacon. Also, I make the Delia recipe where you cook it in the oven, uncovered for about 3 hours. It is sooo much better - the meat is very tender, and the whole thing is richer and holds together more as a sauce iykwim.

I use Delia's Ragu recipe for my bolognese and canelloni. It has pancetta, pork and beef mince and chicken livers. Lots of browning but then just cooks for 3 hours in open dish in oven. Sounds like major faffage but it's not too bad actually, is blardy lovely, makes tons for freezing.
Recipe here

oregano

shot you not, listen not to pesto/chili/lee n perrins bollocks

oregano is the way to go - the more simple - the better

Noooooo! Bay leaves, 1 per portion. Just remove them before you serve.

Custardo,

You lack imagination..............!

My bolognaise recipe has slow cooked onions, passatta, pinch of sugar, pinch of salt, mince, lots of oregano and milk in it.

Then cook it for hours - it is delicious and the mince is very tender.

I agree with custardo - its about cooking the oregano first in oil with some pancetta or bacon. Then carrots, onions, garlic for 10 mins then pork/beef mince. Then passatta and season to taste. Leave as long as you need. Perfect every time.

I add Bisto gravy granules. My housemate reckons ketchup adds to the taste, but I find it too sweet. I like the sound of the ideas here, must try some of them.

Carrots oregano and I like a splash of port rather than red wine. Had no wine and thought I'd try port once and everyone raved about it.

Don't eat it the day you make it, ever.
Always leave it in the fridge and reheat the next day. Somehow it all blends together and becomes a sauce, rather than mince floating around in tomato.

dash of red for the bolognaise
Rest of the bottle of for you.
Then you won't even care what it tastes like

OK, look away now if you're a purist - this is a complete bastardisation of bolognese - but by God it's delicious.

I add in stock, cocoa powder and golden syrup. This is on top of carrots, onions and celery and a whole heap of different herbs and spices. And cooking it on a low heat for a long time.

Once, when I was caught really, really short I used instant coffee in place of stock and mixed berry jam in place of golden syrup, and blow me down if it wasn't my best yet. Rich in flavour with an incredible depth.

Onions, garlic, oregano, olive oil, grated carrot, mushrooms, mince, salt and pepper, Tom purée, tin of chopped toms, and passata, chicken stock and let bubble and reduce for as long as possible. If I had red wine would put some in too.

A big squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds a little je ne sais quo!