The Best Bolognese sauce ever? Help!

[Orang Utan]

they call it mirepoix in france

 

[Biddlybee]

Bolognese?

 

[Orang Utan]

Bolognese?

soffritto

 

[llaarraa]

if you're veg, you wouldn't be cooking it in the first place.
half a bottle seems like quite a lot to me, but i have in the past used whole bottle when stewing oxtail

No, I don't make spag bol but I'd like to know about when to add wine for pasta sauces and lasagne and other stuff.

 

[Biddlybee]

Ah, what do the French use it for if bolognese is Italian?

I should just google shouldn't I

 

[Orang Utan]

No, I don't make spag bol but I'd like to know about when to add wine for pasta sauces and lasagne and other stuff.

i add it just after softening the veg and let the veg absorb it for a bit before adding tomatoes/stock

 

[Biddlybee]

No, I don't make spag bol but I'd like to know about when to add wine for pasta sauces and lasagne and other stuff.

When you've fried of the veg and before you add any stock/tomatoes? (I think )

 

[Orang Utan]

Ah, what do the French use it for if bolognese is Italian?

I should just google shouldn't I

it's the base for a hell of a lot of 'classic' french cooking - used in soups and casseroles mainly.

 

[PacificOcean]

For my bolognese sauce, now that Tesco have stopped stocking Ragu - I just use the first bit of Gordon Ramsey's lasagne recipe - piece of piss and takes no time at all:

2 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, peeled
1 large carrot, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 pinches dried oregano
300g minced beef
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
30ml (2 tbsp) red wine
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

I think it's the addition of milk which gives it a really silky texture.

 

[Orang Utan]

I should just google shouldn't I

i've done it for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirepoix_(cuisine)

 

[Biddlybee]

Ta

I was too busy looking for the red version of that >

 

[Orang Utan]

Ta

I was too busy looking for the red version of that >

are you colour blind?

 

[Biddlybee]

No. Are you?

That's pink. I want a red one

 

[Orang Utan]

eh?
that's about as as red as you can get!

 

[Biddlybee]

ah, you haven't refreshed your page - don't do it! It turns pink.

 

[mrsfran]

Orang, you need to refresh your browser. You've still got the old smilies cached.

 

[Orang Utan]

no, it's still red - i've seen pink one on other sites

 

[Biddlybee]

look....

 

[Orang Utan]

how did you get that?

 

[Biddlybee]

The pic > screen shot, the smiley > Crispy

See missfran's post ^ but don't do it!

 

[Orang Utan]

how come mine has stayed red though?

 

[mrsfran]

Have you refreshed properly? Control-F5?

 

[Orang Utan]

Have you refreshed properly? Control-F5?

yeah, still red!

 

[ExtraRefined]

Stew 2lbs mirepoix in butter for 30 minutes. Add 2lbs beef mince and salt. Brown. Add a bottle of white wine, reduce by ⅔. Add pint milk and ¼ tsp nutmeg, reduce by 2/3. Add 3 tins of chopped tomatoes (decent quality). Simmer very gently for four hours. Makes about 20 servings, freezes well. Serve with tagliatelle, butter and parmesan

This recipe is better, more authentic, and more concise than all the others posted on this thread. Fact.

 

[CyberRose]

Here's my own "best bolognese sauce ever" recipe for spaghetti bolognese with chorizo...

400g lean minced beef
400g can chopped tomatoes
200g chorizo (cut into small cubes)
Glass of red wine
150ml beef stock
2 tbs tomato puree
1 x large onion (finely chopped)
3 x medium carrots (finely chopped)
4 x celery sticks (finely chopped)
250g mushrooms (finely chopped) - optional
4 x garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 tbs dried basil
1 tbs dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Sizzle the chorizo for a minute before adding the chopped vegetables, when softened add minced beef until brown. Then add everything else and simmer for approx 1.5 hours until thickened.

If you're a traditionalist substitute the chorizo with pancetta, but everyone should try bolognese with chorizo in! It's great!

 

[Infidel Castro]

The key IMO with this and also beef lasagne is the nutmeg.

I also put a bit of milk in it. After the wine has absorbed. Then I add nutmeg. Very tasty.

 

[Infidel Castro]

No soffrittos? Urban fail...

A soffritto is the base used for most ragus (and loads of other dishes)... In the north it tends to include carrots and celery as well as the garlic (a hotly debated topic among Italian chefs) and onions. Somewhere along the line this got butchered and the English bolognese often ends up with huge chunks of the veg, which is just wrong. Chop them up very fine and fry them in a little oil right at the start, it shouldn't take long. Add the rest of the ingredients as soon as the soffritto starts to be translucent and simmer for weeks.

^ ^ this is the way. I always use this method. The same goes in lentil dishes and lots of other rustic whossits.

 

[Epona]

500g (18 oz) tagliatelle
15g (1/2 oz) dried porcini mushrooms (optional)
60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
60g (2 oz) streaky unsmoked bacon, finely chopped
40g (l'/2 oz) celery, finely chopped
40g (1/2 oz) carrot, finely chopped
a small onion or shallot
300g (11 oz) excellent beef mince
1½ tumblers good red wine
nutmeg, grated
1½ teaspoons plain flour
2 scant teaspoons tomato paste
a little broth
good Parmesan cheese, grated

Soak the porcini for an hour in a little warm water, if using. Melt three quarters of the butter in a casserole with the bacon. When the bacon begins to colour add the celery, carrot and chopped onion and let them soften gently. Add the beef, and brown it Pour in half the wine and cook briskly to evaporate most of it. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, sprinkle with the flour, stir, add the tomato paste, the porcini and a ladle of broth. Cover, and simmer the sauce very slowly for at least l'/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding a little porcini liquid, strained through a muslin, or some hot broth. Towards the end add 2 tablespoons of milk, to soften the flavour, taste and adjust the seasoning. Have ready a large pan of boiling salted water. Cook the pasta al dente, place on a warm dish, add the remaining butter in little flakes, and top with three-quarters of the sauce - the rest is passed round at table, like the Parmesan.
This is the classic version, but some people add 2 tablespoons of thick cream to the sauce at the very end. In Bologna they also vary the recipe by using half beef, half pork

IMO that's the most correct recipe on the thread - pancetta (or other fatty bacon type thing), celery, and carrot are integral to the taste of a good bolognaise sauce. If you haven't got those 3 ingredients then it's not a blooming bolognaise!

 

[cliche guevara]

If I don't have any red wine, would it be a problem to use port?

 

[ExtraRefined]

If I don't have any red wine, would it be a problem to use port?

You shouldn't really use red wine at all for cosmetic reasons apart from anything else. Using enough port would add a lot of sweetness, possibly too much.

Vermouth is always a good sub for white wine