Bolognese

I don't use meat, usually grated zucchini. it has the texture of mince if you use enough (usually two or three if you're serving three people)

Thin fettuccine is good.

we use this recipe, but grate the carrot instead of chopping it. i reckon it is best with a good pappardelle.

my ingredients are onion, carrot, celery, beef, pork, passata, red wine. No herbs. Sometimes a little stock.

Cooked slow (3 hrs plus).

Works good with tagliatelle.

Never did a good one until I discovered Locatelli's recipe.

The searing of the mince on one side for five minutes so the protein and juice doesn't run to the bottom and boil the meat makes the biggest difference you could imagine. Back in my formative cooking days I just used to pretty much throw everything in at once and reduce it. Not good. You have to really slave over every process.

The richest tomato flavour comes from using passata I've found. It really absorbs into the meat and veg that way.

Personally I tend to use rigatoni, because I love filling them up with the sauce like little mini canneloni.

A mince mixture is good (such as veal/pork/lamb/beef ... whatever you have to hand. I've tried turkey mince a few times, too).

I'm with you, Shaun re: zucchini but I add it as well as the meat. Celery, bay leaves, tomato puree, diced tomatoes, shedloads of basil and chilli flakes (or Portuguese chicken seasoning).

One thing I like to do sauce-wise is get everything ready bar the tomato/sauce component and layer it on top of the meat and cover so the tomato stuff is drawn down through the rest of the ingredients over a low heat. Macaroni is surprisingly ace if you've run out of spag.

Had a ''bol off'' a few years back with about 25 mates all submitting entries. And I won !

Secret ingredient: Tawny Port. (2 cups)

Other ingredients pretty standard: Lean beef mince, onion (chopped), carrot (grated), mushrooms, tomato puree, tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, 1 beef stock cube, 1 chicken stock cube, fresh chilli, fresh garlic, basil, 3 bay leaves - add water as needed and simmer for 2 hrs at least.

I am ashamed to admit that I still make bolognese with just beef mince, onions, garlic, whole peeled tomatos, pasata, tomato paste and red wine. It's the bogan australian bolognese but I get it tasting pretty good. I think it's about time I grew up though and added carrot and celery. An Italian mate of mine told me I should be doing that, though he is from Milan, not Bologna.

I dont want to move too far away from the flavour I get now, just want to add some depth.

oh, I always add fresh basil and oregano too. that goes without saying I guess.

I can't believe that Looch is the only one to use garlic. It's essential

Myself and the lady differ in our opinions so when it comes to the cooking we have to compromise.

She likes finely diced but I like chunky. Bit bits of carrot and mushroom. Big round bits of onion thinly sliced.

I was going to try putting potato in. Winner or no no grinner?

I hate carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and all that crap in a bolognese. If you want that, eat a fucking stew/ragu/whatever.

k2, I like the sound of yours the best.

Although, Looch's gets kudos for the port, chilli, bay leaf and the garlic.

I take it you want the carrot and celery cut so fine that it basically dissolves?

I don't want it in there at all. Just meaty, tomatoey, garlicky, red winey goodness.

NOM!

big chunks of carrot and celery ruin a bolognese. very finely chopped celery and grated carrot are good. i love the epicurious recipe for the nutmeg hit and the creaminess given by the milk, but i like the sound of locatelli's so might give that a try next time.

haha - well me too if truth be told. I do wanna try it with the carrot/celery combo though. I have a chef mate that always goes on about the magic that happens when you cook carrot and celery together.

yeah i dice and grate everything so fine it all disappears in the mix. finely chopped bacon also works nice.

I hate carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and all that crap in a bolognese. If you want that, eat a fucking stew/ragu/whatever.

i started to make one when an italian friend was over for a while. he chewed me out harsh for thinking of adding any vegies. gave me a lecture about only using beef, onion, garlic, tomatoes, salt, sugar and wine or it's not bolognese.

x-post

slow cooker + bolognese = heaven in a bowl.

I reckon bolognese is the ultimate comfort food for me. I have been eating it for as long as I can remember and making it since I was 15.

a can of big red tomato soup is my secret weapon for awesome bolognese. (plus a can of tomatoes, meat, onion, mushrooms, red wine, basil and oregano.)

is good on a pizza

no chunks. finely chopped all the way.

secret ingredients i large teaspoon of vegiemite OR a couple of anchovies into the mix. Loads of garlic as well.

My dad used to put vegemite in his! he would also go through the cupboard and put in anything that was close to going out of date, or anything that was out of date but he deemed fine.

He never was much of a cook.

celery to sweeten things up.

Sugar gets rid of the acidity of the tomato.

k2 - your dad's cooking sounds awesome.

mine changes every time i make it. i have occasionally added vegemite, or anchovies, or finely grated veggies.

haven't cooked one for years though, should probably give it another run.

LOL, I just came in to see if Loungey had posted about the Big Red :)

I can't remember where I heard about these two things, but they go in my bolognaise every time - a big strip of lemon rind & a tablespoon of freshly ground coffee beans.

yeah – adding a couple of anchovies in with the garlic, onion and oil at the very beginning is goodness (and i'm not really huge on anchovies in general, but these melt away into the sauce)

I'm going to give the Locatelli recipe a burl for dinner tonight. This is the Friday night dreams are made of for those who occasionally dabble in solitude.

add fresh basil and oregano too. that goes without saying I guess.

i use sage and rosemary, but i think a traditional bolognese uses no herbs.

kangeroo is very good as it is a sweet meat.

Godzilla said 2 hours ago:
I can't believe that Looch is the only one to use garlic. It's essential

If you like it in your bolognese, no worries but the authentic sauce has no garlic. It's from Northern Italy and they don't use a lot of the stuff up there. The Academia della cucina Italiana doesn't have garlic in theirs but what the fuck would they know.

I personally don't like garlic in mine so it's a long way from being essential.

Diced carrots, celery and onions are, however, a must...the holy trinity!

I can't believe that Looch is the only one to use garlic. It's essential

I put craploads in mine. Thought it was a given.

Secret ingredient: Tawny Port. (2 cups) from looch fucken genius

such is the power of the internets, this is my first foray into the world of carrot and celery in bolognese. it tastes magnificent.

Bolognese was the first thing I ever really learnt to cook. In grade 6, for a maths project, I cooked spag bol for my whole class, it was rad.

I remember when my now-wife and I were first getting to know each other we at some point got onto talking about the finer points of classic family meals we enjoyed as kids. bolognese came up pretty quickly of course, and we decided to work out what the subtle differences between our families' recipes were.

it didn't take long. mrs flukazoid's summary was basically: ''mum gets 1kg mince, equal parts bbq and tomato sauce (yes, ketchup), and an onion and cooks it up''

I was aghast. happily, the recipe we've ended up with together doesn't draw from that, er, unique variant.

usually ours runs something along the lines of chopped and puréed tomatoes, basil, bay leaves, an onion, very finely chopped broccoli, some carrot, a big dash of red wine and occasionally a couple of chopped chilies to give it some kick. always slow cook, if possible. every time's different though...

i know a few people who add ketchup in their bolognese for a bit of sweetness. it's alright, there's no need to turn your nose up at it just cos it's not autentico.

for a veg version, i use tvp, weird crap that it is. garlic, celery, carrot, onions, mushrooms (and zucchini and capsicum if they're kicking around), coarsely chopped in a food processor.
when the veges are in a pan, put a tin of tomatoes and a hefty amount of sundried tomatoes in the processor, along with a maissel ''chicken'' stock cube.
now i'm all hungry like.

I got some pork and veal mince marked down so I'm gonna give this a go this afternoon. Lotsa garlic, rosemary, carrot and celery. I'm hungry already.

Garlic is essential
Onions are not

Newman's Own Bolognese + 2 cans of lentil.

''mum gets 1kg mince, equal parts bbq and tomato sauce (yes, ketchup), and an onion and cooks it up''

Now I'd never attempt this unique variation but I will confess to tossing a bit of the ol' HP Sauce into the spag bol if the situation calls for it.

I've been craving bolognese since I started this thread. I think I'm gonna have to try out ed's recipe tonight.