Pasta Bolognese Sauce

I have a really nice, but unhealthy version of the recipe made by myself :)
4 Cloves of garlic, 1 whole onion diced drizzle of olive oil until they are transparant and gold - tip to add salt it makes the onion sweat more giving more flavour i also add 2 table spoons of tomato puré. I prefer to pre-fry my mince seprately
Add, your tomatos your garlic, onions in a big pan add peppers if your desire but that is optional i like to add slightly more puré make a thicker sauce and i intend to cook for 10mins on a simmer - i then add half a cup of red wine or port, i fine a fruity wine with a low body but experiment with 1tblespoon of suger then leave to simmer for 10-15 mins add mushrooms on the last couple of minute cos they shrink over time... add basil and your desires herbs add some philadelphia tble spoon just does well :D
 
Adz said:
From Google and various culinary experiments, I'm somewhat dubious about whether bolognese should have any tomatoes at all. I've just been using paste, stock and wine. Certainly I've certainly never had a bolognese in a restaurant which looks or tastes anything like Dolmio.
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An authentic Italian Bolognese sauce is a ragu, a meat sauce and from what I've read "authentic" recipes either don't have Tomatoes or use a small amount of Tomato purée. A British Bolognese, as I'm sure you'd agree, is a different animal. Lots of Tomatoes, red instead of white wine and milk is rarely used.

My tops tips for "British Bolognese" are-

1. Get the best quality tinned Tomatoes you can.
2. Don't use a non-stick pan. The fond that develops when you brown the meat properly adds so much flavour. Which brings me to number 3.
3. Brown the meat properly i.e. hot pan (preferable without a non-stick coating), small batches (don't crowd the pan) and don't cook it through... you just want to brown the outside. Here's what I mean-


4. Use a little bit of Coriander seed powder, it gives that spicy taste that is part of the British take on the ol' Spag Bol.
5. Add a little bit of cheese towards the end. It really helps balancing the flavour.
6. Don't cook with wine you wouldn't be happy to drink.
 
When my mum went on an Italian cooking day, they said to use whole tinned tomatos rather than the chopped tinned tomatos as apparently they can put all sorts of rubbish in the chopped ones.

Little bit more fiddly as you need to remove the little green tips from the whole tomatos, but should give a better flavour.
 
I use this recipe I found in the Guardian.

The perfect bolognese

Serves 4

Generous knob of butter
100g smoked streaky bacon, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 sticks celery, finely diced
250g coarsely minced beef, at room temperature
40g chicken liver, finely chopped
150ml whole milk
Nutmeg, to grate
150ml dry white wine
400ml tin plum tomatoes

(sldsmkd notes: If you can't find Chicken Livers, you can substitute a little bit of Chicken Liver pate, Pancetta instead of the Bacon, I just use Nutmeg from a jar as it's hard to find also)
1. Melt the butter in a large flameproof casserole set over a gentle heat, and then add the bacon. Once the bacon fat has started to melt, add the onion, and cook gently until softened, then tip in the carrot, and cook for 5 minutes before adding the celery and cooking for a further 2 minutes.

2. Crumble the beef into the pan and brown, stirring occasionally to break up any lumps. Season, then stir in the liver, and let it cook for another 5 minutes.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 125C. Pour in the milk, and grate a little nutmeg over the top. Simmer gently until almost all the milk has evaporated, which should take about half an hour.

4. Pour in the wine and the tomatoes and stir well. Put the casserole into the oven, with the lid slightly ajar, and cook for at least 3 hours (4 is even better) until the meat is very tender. Check on it occasionally, and top up with a little water if it seems too dry, although this probably won't be necessary. Serve with pasta or gnocchi, and grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese.
 
Anything tomato based (lasagna, bolognaise, chilli) all taste better if they're made the day before as the tomato sauce gets richer.

Noticed how no one has mentioned sugar in any of your recipes. I find that it really brings out the flavour in the tomatoes and wouldn't not use it now. Dont get me wrong I don't use a lot but I wouldn't go without it.
 
I am Italian, and learnt to cook over there :) I would say one main thing: Bolognese is primarily a meat sauce, it does not have tomatoes in. Tomato paste, yes.

If you want a rich, thick sauce, it's easiest to make it at home. It takes a LONG time time cook, but it is unlike anything you've had before. A recipe from Delia is actually incredibly close to the real thing, and what I use as the basis for mine:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/italian/an-authentic-ragu-bolognese.html

I add a glass of full fat milk to it before it sits and cooks, it changes the texture. I also increase the cooking time to 6 hours. Trust me on this, something changes in the sauce over time, it makes a HUGE difference. You don't have to do anything, just let it bubble away in the oven all day (or night!), stir and taste every couple of hours. It will smell so good you will want to eat the lot, but resist and let it cook as long as you can! And don't forget the nutmeg! Makes a big difference.

I would really recommend making this recipe as is, you make a huge batch of sauce, then get a lot of freezer bags, put enough sauce for 1 or 2 portions in a bag, let them cool a bit, put them in the freezer. They defrost well and voila, for less price than packaged sauce you have about 15 portions of really delicious bolognese to use whenever you want.
 
fross said:
I am Italian, and learnt to cook over there :) I would say one main thing: Bolognese is primarily a meat sauce, it does not have tomatoes in. Tomato paste, yes.

If you want a rich, thick sauce, it's easiest to make it at home. It takes a LONG time time cook, but it is unlike anything you've had before. A recipe from Delia is actually incredibly close to the real thing, and what I use as the basis for mine:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/italian/an-authentic-ragu-bolognese.html

I add a glass of full fat milk to it before it sits and cooks, it changes the texture. I also increase the cooking time to 6 hours. Trust me on this, something changes in the sauce over time, it makes a HUGE difference. You don't have to do anything, just let it bubble away in the oven all day (or night!), stir and taste every couple of hours. It will smell so good you will want to eat the lot, but resist and let it cook as long as you can! And don't forget the nutmeg! Makes a big difference.

I would really recommend making this recipe as is, you make a huge batch of sauce, then get a lot of freezer bags, put enough sauce for 1 or 2 portions in a bag, let them cool a bit, put them in the freezer. They defrost well and voila, for less price than packaged sauce you have about 15 portions of really delicious bolognese to use whenever you want.
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Yeah Locatelli's recipe has very little tomato - but tbh there's so many different variations i've seen from different italian chefs, the only conclusion i've come to is that Italians love to disagree over what makes something authentic!
 
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