Description
Spaghetti Bolognese is a classic Italian dish loved for its rich, savory meat sauce and the way it beautifully coats strands of spaghetti.
Ingredients
For the soffritto
- 3 tbsps. olive oil
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 celery stalks (chopped fine)
- 2 carrots (chopped fine)
- 1/4 tsp salt
Without the soffritto (add oil, onions and garlic and these ingredients)
- 500 grams beef mince
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp garlic & herb
- 1/4 tsp Italian meat seasoning
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 canned tomatoes (800 grams (2 medium 400 grams each))
- 1 cup tomato passata
- 400 grams spaghetti
Optional at the end of cooking
- fresh basil or parsley (chopped)
- taste for salt and pepper
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or non stick pan (large with sides to prevent the sauce from spilling over)
- Soffritto: Cook the onions, celery, carrots and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes on low heat. Add the garlic and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Brown the meat: Add the beef mince and cook till nicely browned. While browning add the spices and seasoning. Use a wooden spoon to break the mince up as it cooks.
- The short version: Skip the 10 minute soffritro and instead heat the oil, brown the meat, season/spice and add onions and garlic.
- Add the tomato paste, red wine and let it cook through on medium heat, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Slow simmer: Add the tomatoes and passata and mix. Bring the pot up to a boil and then drop the heat to a low simmer and cook for 2 hours. Check halfway through and you will possibly need to add a cup of water to keep it going and not burning. Keep the lid on at a slant. When you see it's reaching a thickness that you are happy with, remove the lid for the last 30 minutes. This is cooked on very low heat with a simmer here and there. It can go for 2.5 hours with the occasional stir.
- 30 Minute version: Cook on medium to high heat for 20 to 30 minutes with no lid. To amp up the flavor in the shorter version, add a tablespoon of sauce and make sure to add the spices in the beginning. The sauce can be any of the taste you prefer: Worcestershire sauce, soy, braai/barbecue. You can also add beef stock cubes for added flavor and a teaspoon of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes.
- Remove the pot/saucepan from the stove, and as it cools down, add fresh parsleyor basil.
- Serve with cooked spaghetti, parmesan cheese and freshly chopped herbs.
Spaghetti
- Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions but with a minute or so less than required. Using a large spoon or pasta ladle to transfer the spaghetti directly from the pot to the sauce pot (no draining) while the sauce pot is on medium heat. The pasta will transfer with some of its water, that's good. You don't need much, a couple of splashes is okay. Leave it on the stove for about minute as you stir. Remove from heat and serve. Extra layer of flavor: Add cheese and fresh chopped parsley into the sauce and spaghetti mix.
Notes
- Short cooking time: Without the soffritto brown the mince first in oil then add the onions, garlic, seasoning and spice. Continue with the rest of the recipe.
Tomatoes: When the sauce does a slow simmer over hours there's no need to add sugar. The longer the tomatoes cook, the less is the acidity. The better quality tomatoes the less the acidity. Some less than par tomatoes can be very acidic.
Creme de la creme bolognese: Add fried pancetta or bacon.
Season: During cooking and towards the end of cooking, taste for salt.
Beef Mince: Add the beef mince and use a wooden spoon to break it up so that it can not only cool (and not stick to the pot and burn) but collect the soffritto flavors better as it cooks. Keep stirring/mixing until the beef mince goes from pink to brown.
Buying Beef Mince: A good ratio of fat plays a role since fat equals flavor. Lean beef mince with 10% or 20% fat is good. When you use meat with no fat you might find yourself having to add oil because the meat will possibly stick to the bottom of the pot.
Visit out shop for spices, seasoning and extra virgin olive oil.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian