Spag. Bol. not from the jar.

[Why??]

Anyone got a good recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese? I would love to make it from scratch but don't know a recipe for it.

[shazbang]

Dry fry your mince (onion & garlic optional) with herbs and spices (your choice) on low heat. I use mixed herbs, bay leaves, a pinch of chilli powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Once the mince is browned add a beef oxo cube (appx 1 cube per 200g mince). Fry that off a bit, dont worry if it starts sticking. Add a tin of plum tomatoes, chopped (including sauce), stir that for a bit and then add a tube or tin of tomato puree. let all that simmer for about 15mins, remove the bay leaves (if you added them) and serve on a bed of pasta/spaghetti and sprinkle on some cheese (again, your choice). Some people prefer to make the sauce in a pan instead of frying pan. My family rave about this when I make and yet its so simple. Enjoy!

[Why??]

thanks shazbang, sounds delicious, now my mouth is watering! I will give it a go.

[bekah]

I do pretty much the same.

Fry 2 onions over a low heat, then put in 1 tub of lean mince, sprinkle an oxo cube over, when this is nearly brown, I pour a good measure of red wine over (gives a great taste) add a handfull of mushrooms and anything else that needs using up (peppers etc..) then add a tin of chopped tomtoes and puree ans simmer for about 15 mins....delicious!!

[Xollob]

1. In a large pan, brown your mince and finely chopped bacon. Add bayleaf and freshly ground black pepper. Don't buy the cheapest mince - you're paying for water and the meat may not brown.


2. In a separate pan, sautee finely chopped onion, garlic, carrots and celery in plenty of olive oil (sorry shazbang, the garlic is non-negotiable!). When the onions are nicely translucent, add to the pan of browned mince.


3. Add a helthy dollop of tomato paste, stir, then deglaze with red wine, stock and balsamico vinegar. (If you're using stock cubes, make sure they don't contain too many unnecessary chemicals.)


4. Put lid on pan, reduce the heat and simmer very gently - the longer the better.


5. About 15 mins before the end of cooking, add some herbs, more salt and pepper if necessary and perhaps some cream.

There is also some interesting info on Wikipedia. Buon appetito!

[Eels]

Gosh, I make spag bol all the time and I've never needed a recipe yet - it tastes best when you fling everything into the pan and cook it!

Same as the others, fry mince dry, add onion once it's browned. Then when onion soft, reduce heat, add a selection of garlic, peppers, mushrooms, bacon etc, season with chilli powder, paprika (pleanty of this makes the sauce rich without needing to use stock), various herbs of your choice, salt, pepper, big dollop of tomato puree and a tin of plum tomatoes, plus a slosh of red wine (leave the rest to drink afterwards!). Plus a crumbling of gravy browning for extra richness if you like. Add more water if necessary and leave it to bubble for a while.
SO easy and totally delish.

[Snappy]

Antonio Carluccio does a bolognese where all you do is brown the mince, add passata and seasoning, then simmer on a very low heat for about three hours. You dont add wine and my mam adds a splash of milk about 20mins from finishing!

[Gef]

I use a different recipe c/o Delia. Can be found online. Let me know if you don't like any of the ones above.