Ok so, this is my spag bol recipe. Although you can pretty much just use any pasta you like so don’t feel like you have to use spagetti if you want to use fusilli or something. Try not to use Penne though. It’s the most boring fucking pasta you can possible eat. Might just be me that thinks that but there we go. At least fusilli has come nice little twirls in it.
OK so first thing not to do. Don’t cook the meat first with your onions and garlic, then put in your tomato sauce and let it cook down. Worst way you can do it. Much better to cook the tomato sauce first then add it in later. My way does take longer but if you think ahead you can make your tomato sauce the day before. Now I don’t use a jar of tomato sauce or one of those crappy pre-made pasta ‘sauces’ I’m really trying not to use processed food. Those pre-made sauces just don’t taste right. I use tined tomatoes or fresh tomatoes depending how rich I’m feeling. If you as I do live in Australia, you will understand how expensive good fresh tomatoes can be. If you are on a budget then tinned tomatoes are the best way to go. They are generally just tomatoes, tomato juice and maybe some salt. Always read the ingredients on the back to make sure whats in it. The less ingredients the better.
So First off we’ll do the tomato sauce. It’s super easy and a great thing to cook on a weekend when you have some time bumbling around the house to let it slow cook.
You will need;
- 4-5 tins of tomatoes or 1-1.5kg of ripe tomatoes of choice. I find Ox Heart tomatoes really good for this. The quality of tomatoes will depend how much sauce you want to make.
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Maldon Salt
- Pepper
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Organic Brown Sugar / Coconut Sugar
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- Put a pan on a medium heat. Add the olive oil then the cloves of garlic. Let these cook around for a bit to take on a light golden colour. Now add the tins of tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of balsamic and a tablespoon of the sugar. Season with salt and pepper, mix well then bring to a simmer.
Thats pretty much it. You just want to simmer this so it reduces by about 1/2 to 2/3. The longer the better really. I’d say about 3-4 hours on a very low simmer. If you’re feeling rich then use real tomatoes instead of tinned. You can keep this in the fridge for 3-4 days I reckons.
Ok now for the meaty bit!
you will need;
- Free Range Pork Mince
- Organic Grass Fed Beef Mince
- Onions
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Dried oregano
- Red or White wine – I prefer white wine for this.
1. ok so get your pan on a medium heat. Once it’s heated up add a good splash of olive oil then fry off the onions, the garlic, the carrots and the celery. Season with salt and pepper. Keep it moving around the cook off for about 10 mins. Remove from the pan and pop to one side in a bowl.
2. Now get your pan back on a high heat. Let the pan get really hot then add some olive oil, whole 2 cloves of garlic then fry off the meat in small batches. Season with salt, pepper and dried oregano for each batch. After you do each batch let the pan get nice and hot again before you add more meat. Try to keep the cloves of garlic in the pan. We’re using it to help flavour the oil and meat.
3. Once you’ve fried off the meat, pour a glass of wine into the pan to de-glaze the pan. Now add the meat and the onion, carrots and celery mix back into the pan. Mix up well then add the pre-made tomato sauce. Give it a good stir then simmer gently for at least 1 hour.
4. From here you can pop the pasta on. Follow the pack instructions. Always make sure to salt the water properly. Normally use 1lt of water for every 100 grams of pasta.
5. While the pasta is cooking turn the heat off on the bolognese. Add 2 knobs of butter, grate a handful of parmesan and a handful of torn fresh basil. Pop the lid on the leave to rest for 5 mins while the pasta finishes cooking.
Drain the pasta, drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and a
few twists of pepper.
Remove the lid on the bolognese, stir well then serve with the pasta.
Sorted.
timmyfoody 