Spaghetti Bolognese

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Ingredients

Serves 1 increase ingredients again per person

Half pound (227g) Free Range and or Organic Beef mince not too lean
Half an onion finely chopped
1 Carrot Finely Chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons sundried tomato puree
1-2 cloves of garlic sliced
One glass dry good red wine such as a bordeaux or burgundy
1 Bay Leaf
Finely grated Fresh Parmesan cheese
Salt and Black Pepper
Olive Oil
4 fresh basil leaves
Cup of Beef Stock

Method

I wrote this recipe up for my youngest daughter Georgia because this is her absolute favourite meal. Free range beef will always give the biggest flavour improvement over mass produced beef, organic if you can. Don't use extra lean mince as the fat in this as with many dishes is the medium which carries the flavour. Take two frying pans and start cooking in parallel, in one add the olive oil and start cooking the onions, garlic and carrot slowly until translucent. The carrot is a recently new ingredient to this dish for me, I recently had to cook this for a person with an onion allergy so I substituted carrot entirely for onion becuase carrot is a wonderful flavouring vegetable for stews and stocks and the result was very good so now it is a standard addition. In the other pan turn the heat up very high ( the best pan for this is a cast iron pan ) we are going to sear the mince in small batches. This is an important process, a bit like searing meat for a casserole, the exterior of the mince is to be caramelised (or burnt a little) because later it is to be slow cooked on the hob which will break down this crust and create sublime slightly sweet browning to your pasta sauce. Now sear the mince on the high heat in small batches, season on all sides with salt and pepper, stir until cooked on all sides. Transfer to a plate or bowl when cooked. When the onions are cooked, add the wine, stock, tomato puree, tomatoes, bay leaf and mince. The beef stock will ideally be proper home made from beef bones but that is not always practical so a cup of stock made from bouillon beef stock or a good stock cube will be ok. You should only be getting 1 or two bubbles in the sauce if you have more turn it down. Simmer for 2 hours, 1 will do if you are in a hurry. Add the fresh basil finely chopped or broken for the last 10 minutes and remove the bay leaf. The slow cooking brings out all the flavours of the meat and breaks down the acidity of the tomatoes. When ready cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions. Serve the pasta and sprinkle over half the parmesan directly on the pasta then serve the spaghetti sauce and top with more parmesan.Chef's Tips: 1. Make this dish 2 or 3 days in advance and keep in the fridge, the extra time allows the flavours to really mingle and mature.
2. My mum used to add peas to spaghetti bolognese which changes the texture somewhat and I sometimes do the same for a change.
3. Sliced mushrooms are another extra ingredient which will ring the changes.
4. A little sour cream stirred in before serving produces another take on this classic dish.
5. And, of course I like to add a few fresh chillies sometimes too - well I would wouldn't I?

Pasta Tips

Use as large a pot as you have, and bring to a rolling boil as full as reasonable (remember pasta is being added) this way when you add the pasta it may not lose the boil or at worst will come off the boil for a shorter period. There is an old tip to add a little olive oil to the pan to prevent sticking but many very experienced chefs berate this as an old wive's tale and a waste of good olive oil. However World renowned Food Scientist Harlod McGee points out in his book "McGee on Food and Cooking" that you should add the oil but must repeatedly pull the pasta up through the surface to catch the oil, I have started doing this and frankly it works very well, no more clumps of spaghetti. It could be that all the working of the pasta constantly pulling up and down helps somewhat more than just the usual stirring. Harold McGee's book is highly recommended to anybody interested in learning more about food and cooking.

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