Bolognese

[juneybean]

Anyone got a bolognese recipe with a bit of OOMPH in it.

I've looked at the ones in the recipe section and nothings tickling my fancy.

No rush as not making it until tomorrow, but I'm thinking of getting a courgette, never cooked with one before !

Bacon, chopped up small and fried up with the mince. Lush!

Other things I put in are: carrots, celery, mushrooms, onion - all chopped up dead small. Give texture and flavour without being noticeable.

Ooo thanks for replying so quickly, definitely going to put carrots, mushrooms and onion in but absolutely hate celery lol

Never thought of putting bacon in, does it add a different flavour?

Well, my friend's dh also hates celery but he absolutely raved about my bolognese last time I made it for them and we finally pinned it down to the celery - much to his distaste!

The bacon makes it more substantial and a bit saltier (which I love, but I never add salt anyway so that's probably why!) and kind of lifts the mince - I use beef and it goes well with that.

I don't mind celery if someone else makes it in the bolognese, but I'm not sure I could justify buying some just for bolognese

If celery scares you this will really do it but I use a little bit of chicken liver as per Delia. Not very much and chopped up finely so no one can see it (they wouldn't eat it if they knew) but it does seem to add a certain savouriness. And a fair bit of red wine.

I'm all for liver (but I think it's lambs liver my mother uses) but not sure I could add it to a bolognese!

My mum makes the best bolognese ever

You HAVE to start off with carrot, onion, celery and garlic, chop them finely, in a processor if you have one.

I add minced lamb, fry it for as long as possible, this makes a difference.

Add a good spoonful of tomato puree, and 2 tins of whole tomatos NOT chopped. A teaspoon of sugar counters the acidity of the tomatoes,a generous pinch of oregano, NOT basil and a good slosh of red wine.

Simmer away for aw long as possible, if you have time make it the day before, it will be gorgeous.

Oooh that sounds lovely!

doing half beef/half pork mince is nice

our method is

carrots, celery, onion chopped v small and fried off, add mince, pancetta and chicken livers, brown everything. then add milk! and reduce the milk away (adds sweetness and richness), then add martini and reduce away. finally add tomatoes, tomato puree, passata (sometimes sun-dried tomato paste), anchovies (why i don't know but adds a lot of flavour), worcester sauce, oregeno, and a bay leaf. simmer for 2 hours minimum.

MrCSWS forgot to say that the milk actually helps to break down the protein in the meat to make it more tender.

And we also use garlic that he forgot to mention.

Men!

Mew so I chopped my veg; courgette, white onion, red onion, carrot and mushrooms.

added my mince and the garlic and a tin of chopped toms and a bit of water and now it seems REALLY watery, will it thicken!?

Is there anything I can add to thicken it?

Pop an oxo cube and some worcester sauce in - if it still needs thickening put some gravy granules in but you'd be better off just letting it reduce until it's thick naturally. Yum, making me hungry just reading this thread...!

lea & perrins is the way forward

I've worked hard to get a bolognese sauce that works for us

Start with cubed pancetta, celery, carrots and onion. I do add a little oregano at this stage. Sometimes I sneak a mushroom or two in at this stage.

Add the beef - good quality. Add the wine once the meat has browned. Should be white btw. It really makes a difference and prevents the beef from clumping inelegantly. Add a little milk.

Simmer for a long long long time. You can use stock or meat broth for the simmering. The longer the better.

Towards the end add the tomatoes. If you can't be bothered skinning and chopping, make sure that the tin is a good quality tomato (also makes a difference)

Do NOT add tomato puree. Wiki is actually quite good on this here

OK I just let it simmer with a lid on and it's starting to thicken of it's own accord lol

Quattro yours sounds delicious!