Lets Eat Spaghetti Bolognese

 

Perfection!

I've had a bit of a hiatus from blogging over the past couple of weeks - head down, bum up with work, and another rotten cold - though have still managed to whip up a few nice dishes, and we've also had a few small foodie adventures here in Sydney. More to come on that soon.

When I say "whip up" though, this post is the opposite of that. It's slow cooking. It's a meal that we shared as kids almost every winter Sunday and one that evokes special memories of my father as he was always the one to cook this meal. I'm talking about spaghetti bolognese, or just plain "spaghetti" as it was known in our house. To say we loved it was an understatement. Dad would start cooking his sauce immediately after breakfast on Sunday and the smell would fill the house, and it would bring us indoors from playing outside in the winter evenings.

I know pretty much everyone has a version of their own special spaghetti sauce, and I think I've pretty much perfected mine, and it's taken a few years to get the flavours right that we enjoy. My recipe has lots of ingredients and it takes time, but it pretty much gives me the same warm comfort as when my Dad made it. I hope you enjoy it too.

How long will it take to make? About 4-5 hours all up, so plan to make it on a day when you'll be home and able to pop your head into the kitchen to check on it.

Why so long? Because you want your sauce to have the best flavour and consistency. Rich and creamy, not watery and bland. A sauce that sticks to every piece of your pasta. A sauce that your family and friends will remember you for.

How much will it make? This makes about 3 litres (roughly). Enough to put 5-6 meals away into the freezer.

 

Gently cooking the mirepoix

Start by chopping all your vegetables and herbs and adding to a large sided pot. The vegetables for the mirepoix should all be chopped the same size. Key to this part of the process is adding plenty of olive oil (I use really lean meat hence the higher quantity of oil). I've used carrot, onions and celery which is a traditional French mirepoix. I don't use garlic at all, which is something my Father would vehemently object to, I don't think it needs it.


I cook the mirepoix over a medium heat and I put the lid on so they sweat and become really translucent. Add salt at this point as it will help prevent any burning. You don't want any colour or caramelisation on the vegetables at all. I also add all my hard herbs at this point; that's bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.
Once the mirepoix is cooked sufficiently add the meat in and brown this all over. Some recipes call for this to be done in batches, but I don't think it matters, so long as you ensure that you brown it all over before adding the next ingredients. I use a 50:50 ratio of beef and pork for a richer flavour. If you don't want to use pork, just substitute for all beef.

 

All ingredients in the pot

Taste it to ensure you've got the salty/sweet balance right, but bearing in mind that you're only getting an uncooked taste and that the flavours will continue to change as it cooks - so you'll need to keep on tasting it.

 

After 2 hours cooking

After a couple of hours of cooking (with the lid on) the flavours will really begin to come together and you'll see some separation of the olive oil. It should still have a lot of liquid.

 

After 3 hours cooking

At around three hours of cooking the sauce will really be starting to thicken up and the flavours will be really rich and a million miles away from when you first tasted it. You'll still have some liquid in the pot and you'll be seeing a lot more separation of the olive oil.


You might think it looks like too much oil however you need this as it creates a thick emulsion with the other liquids in the sauce and it's this that gives the sauce a rich consistency and makes it stick to your pasta. So don't panic!

 

Finished product!

After three or so hours it's time to take the lid off the sauce and let any liquid further reduce. Depending on how much liquid you have this can take up to an hour, and this depends pretty much on how slow your simmer was set to.

The finished sauce is glossy, thick and has an incredible rich flavour. Be tempted to try this slow cooked sauce. Then cook some fantastic pasta, make a huge crisp salad and get on the phone and ring family and friends to come and join you. Recipe below.

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Dotty's Bolognese Sauce

100mls olive oil

3 medium onions, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, finely chopped

3 medium celery sticks, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic sliced (optional)

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

3 bayleaves

500g lean beef, minced

500g lean pork, minced

1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

300ml red wine, full bodied such as Shiraz

200gm tomato paste

3 x 400gm cans diced tomatoes

200mls full cream milk

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 tsp ground black pepper

In a large, tall sided pot add the olive oil and finely chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Cook (sweat) over a medium heat with the lid on until soft and translucent.

Raise the heat to high and add the beef and pork and cook until well browned, ensuring the meat is well separated and not clumping. Continue cooking on a high heat and add the chilli flakes stirring through for a few minutes.

Add the red wine and cook for 3-5 minutes to reduce the alcohol. Add the tomato paste, diced tomato, milk sugar and black pepper stirring until well mixed through.

Bring to a rolling simmer and cover with the lid for around one hour. Check and stir from time-to-time to ensure that it is not catching at the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook for the next two hours maintaining a consistent slow simmer with the lid on. Check the flavour and ensure there is the right balance of sugar and salt.

After approximately three hours the flavours in your sauce will have started to bind together and you can begin the process to reduce any excess liquid and concentrate these flavours. Remove the lid and continue to cook for up to one hour until thick. Take care when stirring the sauce as it can splash.

Serve with freshly cooked pasta of your choice, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and extra chilli flakes.

Bon Appetite!