We love “Spag Bol” in our house. If I was a real food blogger, I would have called this post “ragu”. But I don’t have a problem with accompanying this great sauce with spaghetti, so spaghetti bolognese it is. What I am precious about, and have been for many years, is not using that crappy red gloop you buy in jars.
This recipe is the real deal. Good quality minced beef and pork, a good vegetable base, some wine, tomato passata and a few herbs transform this innocent sounding dish into something truly special. If you try this recipe I promise you’ll never cook a “bol” in any other way.
Ingredients
- 450g minced beef
- 450 minced pork (or use 800g of beef with 100g smoked bacon pieces)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 sticks celery, chopped
- 1 small courgette, finely chopped
- 500g tomato passata
- 250ml beef stock
- 1 glass wine (optional)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- pinch of sugar
- handful of fresh basil (optional)
- Parmesan cheese
Method
- Heat a little olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole. Add the onion and fry until golden.
- Add the minced beef and pork and fry hard until brown, then add the garlic and fry for a minute more.
- Add the chopped vegetables and fry for a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the basil. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bring to the boil, cover the saucepan, then reduce the heat and leave on a very gentle simmer for 45 minutes. Don’t be tempted to shorten the cooking time - this is important to let the flavours deepen.
- Cook a batch of your favourite spaghetti (I like to use De Cecco) and add to the sauce. Add the torn basil leaves at this point, if using. Taste for seasoning and add some extra salt and pepper if necessary.
- Serve in deep bowls with a generous handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Serves 4-6.
It’s pasta time again. I’m hopelessly addicted to Italian Foodies’ sun-dried tomato pesto recipe. I’ve been making it pretty regularly of late, and for the first time today I found I had some left over. Shocking, I know. Happily, I also had some leftover mascarpone in the fridge, so I came up with this. You probably don’t need the can of tomatoes, just mix the pesto with the mascarpone, but I think it works rather well. Give it a try.
Ingredients
- fresh tagliatelle, enough for 2 people
- 400g can tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
- pinch of sugar
- salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp mascarpone cheese
Method
- Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan and add the minced garlic. Fry for a minute and add the tomatoes, oregano, sugar and vinegar. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a bubble and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
- Add the pesto, parmesan and mascarpone and stir to melt the cheese into the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Add the hot pasta to the sauce and make sure the pasta is coated well. Serve with some grated parmesan and a twist of black pepper.
Serves 2.
As part of my continuing efforts to work my way through every one of Italian Foodie’s recipes (!), I had a go at the rather exotic sounding “Spaghetti Aglio, Olio E Pepperoncino“. This roughly translates as “Spaghetti with garlic, oil and chili“. The recipe is as simple as it sounds - just gently heat some good extra-virgin olive oil, lightly colour the sliced garlic, then add some finely-chopped red chili and fresh flat-leaf parsley. Add some good quality spaghetti to the sauce (as the Italians do) and serve with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese. Very tasty and makes a great change from “red sauce”. Check out Lorraine’s recipe here. Thanks once again Lorraine!
I saw this recipe on Italian Foodies and it looked so super (and different) that I was determined to try it. I suffer from red sauce-itis, where out of habit I expect pasta to be coated with tomato or garlic, or a combination of both. So this was something entirely different for me. It tasted delicious - very light and fresh. I did take the liberty of adding a handful of toasted pine; Lors, I hope you approve of this deviation!
Check out the recipe yourself, the photos are as impressive as the dish tastes.
