Spaghetti Bolognese
Bolognese sauce should have LOTS of flavour to it, so I put a lot of herbs, garlic and black pepper in it. You can reduce the ammount of garlic and pepper if you like but don't reduce the ammount of herbs too much. My Father likes to add minced carrot and celery also. I sometimes make the sauce in a hurry and have it cooked and served in 30-40 minutes, but it is much better to let it simmer slowly for 1-2 hours to let all the flavours combine.
- 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
- 50 ml (2fl oz) oil
- 500 gm (1 lb) beef mince
- 100 ml (1 glass) red wine
- 150 gm (5oz) tin tomato paste (triple concentrated)
- 425 gm (15oz) tin crushed tomato
- 100-150ml water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 - 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried Basil
- 1 tsp dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried Rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried Thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 Beef stock cube
- 1-4 cloves crushed Garlic
Heat oil in a 2L (1 quart) or a bit bigger pot on a medium heat; add the onion, stirring occasionally. When the onion starts to become transparent, turn the heat on to high. Add the mince to the pot by breaking it into small pieces. Stir the mince thoroughly, let it cook for a couple of minutes. Stir the mince well every couple of minutes until the mince is cooked and the liquid that comes out of the mince has almost dried out.
Add the Red Wine, turn down the heat to medium and let the wine reduce by at least half. Stir in the tomato paste, then the crushed tomatoes. Then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bring the pot back to the boil and then turn down to low. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally.
The sauce will look as though there is too much liquid in it but that will evaporate as the sauce reduces.
The sauce should not be too thick when served as the liquid nicely coats and flavours the pasta.
Serve on your favourite pasta (mine is spaghetti), topped with grated cheese. Accompany the Spaghetti Bolognese with a nice mixed salad and a glass of Red wine.