Cooking competitions for viewers occurs from time to time in the TV magazine program The One Show in the BBC. And it's there that I chanced upon this winning recipe from a guy who in turn got it from his Italian granny-in-law. Actually she didn't give it to him, he just watched her all the time she cooks it! This happened early in 2012 and I couldn't find the permalinks anymore. Good thing I emailed the recipe to myself as soon as it was published. So who ever you are (the winner and his Italian nonna-in-law) thank you very much for sharing. Your sauce is now my kids' new pasta sauce favourite.
Tweaks I made for this recipe are - increased recipe to x1.5, changed proportion of beef to pork, and increased the passata. It's mainly to use up all the ingredients as per supermarket packaging. I really don't know what to do with a left-over 150gm of passata nor with 200gm of minced beef. Well ... I could make some other dish out of it but I couldn't be bothered to be honest, I just chucked them all in the pot which I'm sure all of you harried cooks would relate to.
So if you're the type who doesn't like herbs or the after-taste of wine in their pasta sauce this one's for you.
Spaghetti Bolognese
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500 g minced beef
400 g minced pork
3 good-quality pork sausages (97% pork) [about 200 gm]
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
60 g onion - finely chopped
60 g celery - finely chopped
60 g carrots - finely chopped
500 g passata (tomato sauce/puree)
2 Tbsp double-concentrated tomato puree (tomato paste)
2 cups stock
salt and pepper to taste
- Remove sausage from casing. Mix the beef, pork, and sausage in a bowl (best to do by hand) until well combined. Set aside.
- Heat a heavy saucepan or pot. Add the olive oil in low heat and saute the onion, celery, and carrots. Cook for around 5-10 minutes or until softened.
- Add the mixed meat and brown evenly in medium-low heat. Do not overcook until dry. It must stay moist. Break up the meat with your cooking spoon as you brown it.
- Once browned, pour in the passata and tomato puree. Add the stock and stir. It should be covered by liquid.
- Season with salt and pepper. (I usually add 1 tsp sea salt at this point).
- Simmer on very low heat with the cover slightly ajar for about 4-5 hours. Taste regularly and add more salt and/or pepper if needed.
- Check the sauce regularly and if the sauce is thickening too quickly, add a little more hot water or stock. The sauce should always cover the minced meat and not allowed to dry out.
- Serve with spaghetti or any pasta shapes with a topping of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (although this is traditionally eaten with tagliatelle or rigatoni).
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