What have I done?! Come and save my Bolognese!

[youmaycallmeSSP]

I'm making tagliatelle spaghetti Bolognese. I used a mix of 400ml red grape juice and 100ml red wine vinegar as a substitute for red wine. It's been simmering for an hour and the smell is foul and the taste is, erm, vinegary. I've been chucking sugar into it but it doesn't seem to be making much difference. Can it be saved? I was thinking of reducing it right down and then boiling off milk through it before adding more tomato purée but I don't want to keep adding things if it's completely hopeless. What do I do?!

Are you making it with minced Kobe beef?!

But has the OP spent £39 on ingredients or has she done what I do, spent a tenner on ingredients and £29 on other, non-essential bits that she wouldn't have bought had she shopped on-line?

Where the hell are you shopping?

You only need pancetta, mince meat, carrots, celery, tomatoes, garlic and onions!

Oh this is hysterical

Anyway, £39 is very reasonable when you think how much the additonal ingredients cost. Vanish Oxi Action, Bicarb etc don't come cheap.

Pancetta? Celery? Where do you people get your recipes??

Tee do you not put celery in Ragu? Seriously? Both celery and pancetta (or bacon) are staples in ours...

I really can't remember the last time something on here made me laugh out loud. Thank you OP I have had my fair share of culinary disasters. It is a sure sign of a good cook

I'm actually batch cooking bolognese tonight and yes, I definitely put in celery and bacon in mine.

39 quid!

I can feed six of us for under a fiver if I make a bolognaise. And that includes mince, onions, mushrooms tomatoes and passata and the occasional carrot!

Where I am going wrong?

Was anyone else feeling a bit like they'd returned to their childhood reading George's Marvellous Medicine with this thread?!

Sorry about the bolognese though OP, a right bugger when you were trying to batch cook so much. Better luck next time...

FWIW, pancetta or bacon always features in ours, although rarely celery. I tend to follow an old River Cottage recipe, designed for leftover roast beef but works just as well with all fresh. Sometimes I'll even do half half beef half pork mince...

Can't stand celery, I've never thought of pancetta though

Isnt the OP batch cooking? So its like a vats worth of ingredients? I hope so anyway!

Sometimes I put baked beans in bolognaise to bulk it out :o

ghosts I also hate celery but DH cuts it up so small and puts it in st the start with the onions so its soft... I don't notice it now, but I do notice if its not there IYSWIM: it adds good flavour.

you can make spag bol for about £3. Onion, tinned tomatoes, garlic, minced beef, dried herbs

I would of just left out the wine (I dont like wine and would never buy a bottle just to put in a sauce).... but the online thingy said put in a tablespoon not 100ml of red wine vinegar

I'm using this recipe but with 500g pork mince and 500g beef mince.

The £39 was because I picked up other 'bits' on my way round the shop. DS has some nice new slippers!

Celery is not food therefore I don't put it in anything.

Pancetta might be interesting in my pasta sauce, however.

Don't put the slippers in, OP!

There is pancetta and celery in my recipe, never put celery in as it's the devil's food, but will chuck in pancetta/bacon if I have some.

I now have visions of it needing a little "kick" and you chucking the slippers in, like in Charlie and the Choc Factory :o

Best option is grab a takeaway in the meantime! Then again..practice makes perfect! don't give up!!! :)

Celery belongs in bolognese.
I'm in the milk camp.

I know Polter - a kilo of meat for four people?! That recipe feeds us for two nights (spag Bol and then lasagne/quesadillas) plus two bags to put in the freezer. I've made it before but it tasted a bit like cottage pie filling without the red wine so I wanted to see if it made much difference

Thank you so much OP.
I am now batch-cooking bolognese in tribute to you.
I will, however, stick to wine (both in a glass and the sauce).
I think I'll skip the marzipan.