I cannot find a spag Bol I like!

[mintmagnummm]

I've tried various recipes and also jars but nothing has wowed me!
Do any of you have a tasty but easy recipe for me to try? I don't want carrots or celery or other types of veg (obv onion garlic and pepper is ok) I don't like it to end up watery either, am I asking too much??

I use a pack of mince, a red onion, a white onion, mushrooms, a tin of tomatoes, a beef stock cube or two, garlic paste, some water or red wine, a splash or two of balsamic vinegar, Lea & Perrins and some herbs.

Brown the mince and finely diced onions then add the mushrooms and garlic paste to fry off. Then add the liquids and stock cubes and simmer for hours, tasting as you go along and adding herbs and seasonings. A spoon of mustard gives it a nice flavour if you think it's missing something.

My fail-safe recipe is as follows (I don't have measurements as its all done by eye, sorry!)

Fry an onion and some garlic in olive oil until softened
Turn up heat, add mince and brown off.
Drain off excess fat
Add pancetta or smoked bacon, fry
About a tablespoon of tomato puree, fry for a couple of minutes
Pour in small glass of red wine, boil off until most liquid has evaporated
Make up pint of good beef stock, pour in
Add a tin of plum tomatoes and smash up (much, much better flavour than chopped)
Simmer for an hour or two, lid off if you don't want it too saucy
Chuck in fresh basil and season to taste right at the end

It's a good base recipe, and you can tweak it to your tastes - more tomatoes if you like it tomatoey, more red wine/ vegetables etc. The best advice I can give is to let it simmer for at least an hour, so the flavours have time to develop. Hope that helps a bit!

My DD complains if it's at all watery so last time I stirred in a spoonful of flour after browning the mince. Browning the onions and mince well helps develop more flavour if you're not adding the usual tasty veg (carrots and celery). A good dollop of tomato paste as well as the tinned toms should help. (I don't really use a 'recipe' )

If you like it, pancetta or some finely chopped smoked bacon - again well browned before the liquid - can add a lot to the flavour.

metro.co.uk/2014/05/20/a-dish-thats-not-to-be-hurried-over-the-ultimate-spaghetti-bolognese-4733844/ This is Simon Hopkinson's spaghetti bolognese recipe and the only one I cook anymore. You can leave the carrots and celery out if you must, but it simply won't be as good. I tend to whizz all the veg to a mush in the processor before cooking it to avoid the tiresome complaints of veg-dodging husband relatives.

meat:decent mince and ideally 15-20% fat gives more flavour
sear in very hot pan until crust on parts of it(in several batches) you don't want it to be that grey/steamed colour set aside,skim off spare fat
deglaze pan with alcohol:red wine or marsala or white wine… whatever
veg: soften an onion and clove of garlic
i would use similar quantities of finely chopped carrot and celery but if you don't like them them i suppose leave out
put meat and juices in
add tinned toms(no need to buy chopped but italian ones worth a few extra pence
add a beef stock cube crumbled
a bay leaf if you have
a good squirt tom puree
salt and pepper
chopped parsley if available
lid on and simmer 1-2 hours
i sometimes add a rasher or two if i have and like wise the odd mushroom but would tend not to add peppers as rather acidic to my taste(work well in chilli though no carrot/celery/bacon; chilli added flakes or fruit pinch of cumin and drained and rinsed kidney beans)
in terms of quantities i use approx 500g mince/2 tins toms/1 large onion
this provides food for 5 large appetites
nb taste to check and stir from time to time
spaghetti is also worth spending a few extra pence on
grated parmesan to taste
recipie far from set in stone and can be stretched as you wish

Yes brown the mince and vegies, add some red wine, and home made stock then let it simmer right down. I also use lentils and kidney beans, puree and add to the sauce which helps thicken and gives extra flavour.

Only use steak mince.
Brown.
Then drain fat.
Fry onions.
Add garlic
Add tomato purée
Add tin plum tomatoes
Add dried basil
Bubble for 2 hours.
Leave overnight.
Reheat next day

i make mine by browning mince and garlic together, add a beef stock melt, mix in, add onion and mushrooms, fry off, add a tin of toms, add 2 big spoonfuls of red pesto, a bit of mix dried herbs , sprinkle of gravy granules and pepper, then let it simmer for an hour, i do add a bit of boiling water if its a bit thick

like the look of your's Monica i'm going to branch out !

Mini hijack! I am going to try adding a handful of red lentils to my recipe to make it go a bit further. At what stage would I add them? And would I add them straight from tin?

What don't you like about the ones you have tried?

Because it's difficult to make a really tasty one without the soffritto you don't want, if you see what I mean!

I always use 3:1 beef and pork mince.

Have you tried making from ragu recipes instead? Much richer but you use less on the pasta

I always use Delia's recipe - it's really good.

Fry the mince on a really high heat so really browns but doesn't cook, add a glass of red wine and chopped garlic let it bubble down, add a tin of tomatoes and dried Italian herbs and let it cook down to the consistency you want.

Brown 500g mince in pan, I usually drain off some of the fat if there's loads. Add finely chopped onion, couple of garlic cloves and soften. Add can of chopped tomatoes, one whole tube of tomato puree, 1tsp sugar. Simmer for as long as it takes to be thick and rich - you can cook it for hours if you have time. Add beef stock if you think it needs more oomph. Add fresh basil at the end.

I don't eat meat any more. My Bolognese is the one thing I miss.

So the one I use (after many other recipes) and the closest I can get to what my Italian grandma used to make.

One carrot, one onion and a few of the little pre-cut celery sticks, in a food processor so they are veg mush. You can leave out the carrot and celery but it really doesn't taste as good.

Mince - Pork or beef, or a mix

Cook the mince, until it's nice and brown. Then add the sofritio (carrot/onion mix) cook until the veg sort of disappears.

Then add tomato puree, a small tin, no passata and no chopped/tinned toms. The acid in tinned toms is not good.

Then cook for a few hours.

Nothing else. So good.

Oh wow thank you all so much, I wasn't expecting so many replies so quick! I'm going to go through all of these suggestions properly and try some, looking forward to it

Why don't you want carrots and celery? They really do add a significant part of the flavour imo (whereas peppers aren't traditional)

I use Nigel slaters recipe - its depth is amazing and it's consistency is thick and delicious

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/spaghettibolognese_89200

You need to cook it slow and long!

Mine is 1 large onion and a handful of mushrooms chopped
squeeze of garlic puree or 1 crushed clove
500ml of beef mince
1 tin of chopped toms
some tomato puree
1 beef stock cube
salt and pepper
some sugar
dash of vinegar

cook onion and mushrooms until onions are seethrough, add the garlic and cook for a couple of mins.

empty frying pan and add mince and brown. drain.

add onion mix and mince to saucepan or large rimmed pan (with lid)
add in tinned toms. Fill tin with water and swirl and add to pan
add in goooooood squeeze of tom puree.
add in stock cube
add in tablespoon of sugar and vinegar.
Splash of red wine if you like it!

Give everything a ruddy good stir to mix it all in and then once bubbling, turn heat to lowest setting and put on lid.

Cook for 1 hr, then stir and keep checking for the next 30mins, stirring so it doesn't burn. then taste after 1 and half hours...adjust seasoning to how you like it. if still very watery remove lid for last 30 mins and up heat a little, make sure you stir so it doesn't catch. you are looking for a nice thick sauce.

Gets better if left overnight!

I just dislike carrots and celery in any spag Bol :(

Pretty much the same recipe as everyone else but I find that the longer tomato dishes are cooked the better the flavour so I always simmer for as long as I can. Also I like a bit of spice to my bolognaise so I slice a green chilli in half remove the seeds and just pop it in the sauce for a few minutes at the end. And then remove before serving when the flavour is right.

carrots and celery in a spag bol is just ...wrong...

We did try it with bacon once but we didn't like it. Was so disappointed.

"carrots and celery in a spag bol is just ...wrong... "

Actually, it's just........right. If you have ever eaten a bol or a lasagna or anything like that in an Italian home or a good Italian restaurant it will have had carrots and celery in it.

How do you know they are there, mint?