What is the best way to make spaghetti bolognese?!
Answers: how do you make a good spaghetti bolognese, mine never turns out right, i use red wine, a bit of cilli sauce, and the usual carrots and onions mushrooms, everyone tells me its nice but tastes unlike bolognese, somone said to me put a oxo cube in, that can't be right, im making it tonight any ideas of great recipe.
just a little add in for ya here....almost all Italians use carrots and celery in their bolognese....don't know what hell Angry Bernard is rambling about!!!..But not chili sauce.......and it varys on what you add...I've seen people add brown gravy or stock...cream...many things....but as long as you you have the base down..you can basically make it your own recipe!!
Johnston Pasta Bolognese!!
Spaghetti Bolognese
Serves 6-8
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 1 to 2 hours
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil or sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg/2?lb lean minced beef
2 large glasses of red wine
2x400g cans chopped tomatoes
1x290g jar antipasti marinated mushrooms, drained
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped
drizzle balsamic vinegar
12-14 sun-dried tomato halves, in oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a good handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
800g-1kg/1?-2?lb dried spaghetti
lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry the bacon until golden over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, frying until softened. Increase the heat and add the minced beef. Fry it until it has browned, breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine and boil until it has reduced in volume by about a third. Reduce the temperature and stir in the tomatoes, drained mushrooms, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and balsamic vinegar.
2. Either blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in a small blender with a little of the oil to loosen, or just finely chop before adding to the pan. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer the Bolognese sauce over a gentle heat for 1-1? hours until it's rich and thickened, stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, stir in the basil and add any extra seasoning if necessary.
3. Remove from the heat to 'settle' while you cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water (for the time stated on the packet). Drain and divide between warmed plates. Scatter a little parmesan over the spaghetti before adding a good ladleful of the Bolognese sauce, finishing with a scattering of more cheese and a twist of black pepper.
Tip:
You can make a veggie version of this recipe by substituting soya mince or Quorn for the meat, adding it to the sauce halfway through cooking. Or simply add lots of diced vegetables to the onions, such as courgettes, carrots, peppers and aubergines.
I have been making Spaghetti Bolognese perfectly now for a while. I will supply recipe.
1 Lb. of minced beef, 1 tin of chopped tomatoes, 1 Bolognese packet mix (Colman's etc.), 1 glove of Garlic, Dried Rosemary, dried Basil, dried Oregano, black pepper, 1 teaspoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 8 button mushrooms, 1 grated carrot and 1 cooking onion.
Fry the minced beef on it's own in a wok if you have one. when cooked the mince goes firm which is what you need then dispose of excess fat from pan. Set meat aside.
Using the wok again, put a little vegetable oil in then cook the onions (not brown otherwise they are overcooked). Add the grated carrot and garlic. Continue to fry for a minute then add a drop of water. Add all of the herbs and fry a bit more, add the tin of tomatoes, add half of packet mix and keep stirring, the sauce will start to thicken. At this stage you need to add more pkt mix and a drop of water to make the consistency of your choice. Add the honey, and make sure (important) that you add the sugar. This eliminates the acidity from the tomatoes. You can add a little soy sauce to add to flavour but it is important to taste at this stage. You can add more herbs if you want to give a stronger savoury flavour. Put meat back into wok and stir well.
Whilst cooking the spaghetti, half way through, add the mushrooms to sauce, if you add them sooner they will go too mushy.
Taste before serving, but always add sugar with any tomato dish. (This advice was given by a professional Italian chef).
plenty of parmeson cheese!
Keyword - SIMPLE. Italian dishes do not involve carrots and chilli sauce.
Season the pan with garlic and salt, fry up some onion, then pour in tinned tomatoes (this guarantees a rich flavour and is reccomended by Italians that I know), along with some tomato puree and a handful of fresh toms. Do not use a manufactured sauce. Add red wine, but not chilli, as that is not bolognese.
You need to let this sauce simmer for a good hour before you add the meat. You will find the sauce to be rich, simple and authentic. If you add an oxo cube I shall come to your house in the small hours and hose you down.
Hot a pan and heat some mince meat or the quantity you like,don't use oil yet cuz the meat produced itself the fat.Then add chop onions and garlics,basilic,rosemarines,petersils and a pinch of dado (beef stock).After 1/2 an hour add tomato slices but fresh...,always with moderate flame,add a spoon of olive oil and alloro leave.(my colf said...hahahaa...)
brown very lean miced beef, add a chopped onion, crushed garlic to taste, and an oxo cube. cook for 2 minutes, then add 1/4 bottle nice red wine, something you would enjoy drinking, this is the key, horrible wine makes a horrible sauce. Then a can of chopped tomatoes, a sqiurt of tomato puree, some marjoram and oragano. Simmer for half an hour with no lid, then add chopped mushrooms and chopped bell peppers, any colour, and simmer for another 20 minutes or so. It should be naturally thick, if not add a little potato flour mixed with water, or cornflour. Make double and freeze half for next time, this is a lovely sauce and always goes down well. It is even better if you make it the day before you need it. Good luck, hope you have a nice meal!!!
Italian dishes do not contain chilisauce,powder etc. They are generally simple made dish. Here is an Authentic Italian Recipe for for Spaghetti Bolognese.
Bon Appetit
1 pound spaghetti
1 large lean ground beef
1 cup beef stock
2 tablespoons Italian olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 carrot
1/2 celery
1 cup dry Italian white wine
1/2 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cans Italian tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup parmesan cheese
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, around 4 - 5 minutes. Add ground beef, until meat loses its raw
colour, around 6 minutes.
Mix carrot and celery into ingredients and cook over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until wine is evaporated, 4 - 6 minutes. Stir in milk and nutmeg; reduce heat to medium and cook until meat is evaporated, around 3 - 4 minutes
Press tomatoes and their liquid through a sieve into a bowl; discard seeds. Stir sieved tomatoes, beef stock, tomato puree, salt, basil, thyme, pepper and bay leaf into meat mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid is evaporated and the sauce is thick, around 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Remove and discard bay leaf.
Just before serving time, cook spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water just until al dente, 8 - 18 minutes depending on thickness of pasta. Drain well. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on
I use beef base in my bolognese and chicken livers at times.
I use everything you mention,but not the chili sauce.
I simmer it for quite awhile with a bayleaf added...
Here is one that I thought was interesting....
I have not made this one.
This recipe is presented European style, but is still an excellent variation (see comments after recipe)
Ragù Bolognese
Serves 6
1 pound lean minced (ground) beef
4 tablespoon (heaped) tomato purée
8 oz chicken livers, cleaned and finely chopped
16 oz tin Italian chopped tomatoes
4 rashers thick bacon finely chopped (or 4 ounces pancetta chopped)
1 teaspoon dried (or 1 tablespoon fresh) basil
2 small onions, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried (or 1 tablespoon fresh) tarragon
1/4 pint red wine (or Martini Rosso)
3 tablespoon olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
salt and freshly milled pepper
16 oz tin passata (or thick tomato juice)
1/2 teaspoon dried coriander leaves (optional)
Heat the oil in a thick-based frying pan (skillet), then gently soften the onion, bacon and garlic in it for 5 minutes. Now turn the heat up high, add the chicken livers and minced beef, and brown them, keeping the ingredients on the move with a wooden spoon. When the meat has browned pour in the chopped tomatoes, purée, passata, wine and herbs. Put on a lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, adjust the seasoning and simmer gently uncovered for a further 20-25 minutes to get a nice concentrated sauce.
Comment: Anybody in the world will tell you that they make a "superb Spaghetti Bolognese" and they are probably right - this is such a simple dish that it is practically impossible to do anything other than produce a good result (although I do confess I once made one so bad that it was inedible). Having said that, this version has a rich and unctuous quality that I have not tasted in previous versions and I would recommend that you use it once in place of your normal recipe, if only to disagree with me. As you probably know the exact quantities of ingredients seem to matter less in Bolognese sauce than in practically anything else so the above can be adjusted to suit your own tastes. I add the passata (sieved Italian tomatoes) partly to give extra body, but mainly because I like quite a runny sauce - if you prefer a drier mixture omit it. The quantities above give six generous servings and would probably feed 8 without anybody going hungry - again personal taste because I am usually more interested in the sauce than the pasta.
Curiously the people of Bologna, home of this famous meat sauce, would never consider using it over spaghetti but would have it over home made tagliatelle (ribbon noodles). It also goes well in lasagne, with tortellini or the dry pasta such as rigatoni, conchiglie or fusilli. As this recipe varies quite considerably from the classic version - which contains vegetables and milk but no chicken liver or bacon - feel free to make a "Spag Bol" with a clear conscience.
I worked for an Italian and carrot is cooked in the sauce and is either pureed at the end of cooking or taken out at the end.
Johnston your recipe sounds good to me. But to give
that added flavour a good dash of Tabasco sauce will
give it the kick you need. Also don't forget to season with salt. (By the way - Oxo is just fine, so don't get leaving
that out) And don,t forget the tomatoes! or tomato puree.
Mmmm mmmm, now you have made me hungry.
Get out the garlic bread and loads of parmesan - I'm a
comin to dinner!! Minxy.
Try the following
Ragu Bolognese
1 lb (450 g) lean minced beef
1 lb (450 g) minced pork
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 x 8 oz (225 g) tub chicken livers
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 fat garlic cloves, chopped
5oz (150 g) pancetta or streaky bacon, finely chopped
2 x 400 g tins Italian chopped tomatoes
2 x 200 g tubes double concentrate tomato purée
1 x 37.5 cl half bottle red wine (or 400 ml/14 fl oz)
1 oz (25 g) fresh basil
? whole nutmeg, grated
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 1, 275°F (140°C).
First take a large frying pan, the largest you have, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and gently fry the onion and garlic over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, moving it around from time to time.
While the onion is softening, chop the pancetta: the best way to do this after opening the pack is to roll the contents into a sausage shape, then using a sharp knife slice it lengthways into 4, then slice the lengths across as finely as possible. After 10 minutes, add this to the pan to join the onions and garlic and continue cooking them all for another 5 minutes. Now transfer this mixture to the casserole. Add another tbsp of oil to the pan, turn the heat up to its highest then add the minced beef and brown it, breaking it up and moving it round in the pan. When the beef is browned tip it into the casserole. Heat another tbsp of the oil and do exactly the same with the minced pork. While the pork is browning, trim the chicken livers, rinse them under cold running water, dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper and chop them minutely small. When the pork is browned, transfer it to the casserole, then heat the remaining tablespoon of oil and brown the pieces of chicken liver. Add these to the casserole.
Now you've finished with the frying pan, so get rid of that and place the casserole over the direct heat, give everything a good stir together, then add the contents of the tins of tomatoes, the tomato purée, red wine and a really good seasoning of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Allow this to come up to simmering point. Then strip the leaves from half the basil, chop them very finely and add them to the pot. As soon as everything is simmering, place the casserole on the centre shelf of the oven and leave it to cook slowly, without a lid, for 4 hours. It's a good idea to have a look after 3 hours to make sure all is well, but what you should end up with is a thick, concentrated sauce with only a trace of liquid left in it, then remove it from the oven, taste to check the seasoning, strip the leaves off the remaining basil, chop them small and stir them in.
Spaghetti Bolognese
2 tbsp olive oil or sun-dried tomato oil from the jar
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg/2?lb lean minced beef
2 large glasses of red wine
2x400g cans chopped tomatoes
1x290g jar antipasti marinated mushrooms, drained
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 tsp dried oregano or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme or a small handful of fresh leaves, chopped
drizzle balsamic vinegar
12-14 sun-dried tomato halves, in oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a good handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
800g-1kg/1?-2?lb dried spaghetti
lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese, to serve
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry the bacon until golden over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, frying until softened. Increase the heat and add the minced beef. Fry it until it has browned, breaking down any chunks of meat with a wooden spoon. Pour in the wine and boil until it has reduced in volume by about a third. Reduce the temperature and stir in the tomatoes, drained mushrooms, bay leaves, oregano, thyme and balsamic vinegar.
2. Either blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in a small blender with a little of the oil to loosen, or just finely chop before adding to the pan. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer the Bolognese sauce over a gentle heat for 1-1? hours until it's rich and thickened, stirring occasionally. At the end of the cooking time, stir in the basil and add any extra seasoning if necessary.
3. Remove from the heat to 'settle' while you cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water (for the time stated on the packet). Drain and divide between warmed plates. Scatter a little parmesan over the spaghetti before adding a good ladleful of the Bolognese sauce, finishing with a scattering of more cheese and a twist of black pepper.