Sunday 4 February 2007

Bolognese/Bolognaise

No, I'm not going to reinvent the wheel or teach your grandmother to suck eggs, but thought I'd raise the issue of what goes in yours? Watching Heston Blumenthal on BBC2 last year when he interviewed people on what makes a good bolognese/bolognaise got me thinking that there are so many variations on the theme.... For a start, there's the different spelling (Italian v French) and then there are the other debates - milk or no milk, carrots or not, red wine, which herbs etc.
I was taught my recipe by an Italian so I think it's pretty authentic! Basically, I use onions, garlic, carrots and celery in the base and then throw in a packet of cubetti pancetta. I raise the heat and add the meat to brown then add a big glug of red wine and a bottle of sugocasa. I tend to add a sprinkle of sugar and some tomato puree and the herbs and simmer for 30 mins with the lid on and then at least another 30 mins with the lid off. If I have a knuckle of parmesan knocking about I'll pop that in and if there are few unloved mushrooms in the bottom of the fridge they find their way in too!
I think the pasta makes a big difference too - I always add a bit of salt to the water as well as some sunflower oil (this stops it sticking). Add a generous knob of butter to the pan and return the drained pasta to the pan, stirring it to coat the pasta shapes in the melted butter. Stir in the sauce and serve with a hunk of parmesan. YUM!
So, how do you do yours?

1 comment:

Bex said...

Can I ask what Sugocasa is please?