Spaghetti Bolognese

[lainey lou]

I LOVE Bolli, I use

Red onion
Bacon
steak mince
beef stock
tom puree
pasatta
sugar
mushrooms
red peppers diced
lots of black pepper
basil

LUSH!!!

[HeyWayne]

You lot are all weird. What's the carrot thing all about?!

Onions, Carrot and Celery - Italiana (UK)

[lainey lou]

My Bolli is a carrot free zone.

[Rhona]

Onion
Carrot
Celery (this in our house is a sofrito, sorry Janeyo )
Then:
Garlic
Pancetta cubes
Red wine (reduce)
Meat (a grind somewhere between chunks and mince)
Napolina Tomatoes
Woody herbs
A Parmesan rind
At the end:
Grinds of pepper
Little sugar
Soft herbs
Squeeze lemon
Salt

Sometimes snip dried mushrooms in

I think I might do this tonight now, thanks HW!

[HeyWayne]

I think I might do this tonight now, thanks HW!

Welcome - I cooked one last night.

You reminded me that I'd forgotted garlic (in my list, not in my cooking).

[Hilary B]

You lot are all weird. What's the carrot thing all about?!

We use, onion, garlic, mince, mushroom, tom puree, jar dolmio or the like (if I've no pureed sauce in the freezer), mixed herbs.

Sorted.

Yeah, I'm (more or less) with you there. I like to keep it simple. Mushroom is 'if we've got any' and I don't use pre-made sauces, just tinned chopped tomatoes plus tomato puree. Often only use half as much mince and add some bulgar to soak up the tomato juice and reduce the fat content (I do that with a lot of mince recipes). I do prefer to use individual herbs (fresh if I've got them) rather than 'mixed'; sage is nearly always with us, and basil plants seem to last well until the weather turns too cold for them.

[ginger ninger]

I make lots of home made Bolognese sauce when I have a glut of tomatoes, let it go cold then freeze it in bags (flat, it doesn't take up much room that way), when I want to make a spag boll I just add one to Beef mince, mushrooms and onions...all the herbs and garlic are already in the sauce, I just grate reggiano parmigiano on it to finish...YUM.

[ailsasyl]

Mango Chutney

Yep me too! Added at the end just before serving
Usually onion, galic, tin toms, puree toms, mushrooms, a pepper, herbs( whatever other veg needs using up Courgette, carrot etc)
Have been using turkey mince as its so much cheaper then beef at the mo and for us every penny counts.

[smallblueplanet]

Veggie spag bol

Veggie Spaghetti Bolognese:

Olive Oil
Garlic
Onions
Celery
Carrots
Mushrooms
Aubergine (optional)
QUORN MINCE
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Freshly grated nutmeg
Oregano
Basil
Tomato puree
Red wine
Veggie Worcester sauce
Pinch sugar (if toms acid)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

If you don't like Quorn use something like puy or brown lentils. Let it simmer down for a few hours...

Yummy.

[Alison]

Mince (beef or goat, not keen on lamb or chicken in it)
Tinned tomatoes or fresh if available
Tomato puree
Onion
Garlic
Various herbs
Mushrooms (usually)
Peppers (if in season)
Marrow (when I have a glut, it breaks down and you don't even know it's there but it bulks it all out for nothing)
Red wine
Good quality stock cube not OXO as they taste rubbish
And that's about it. Most important thing is to cook it for a good hour or two till it's really lovely and tender and flavoursome.

[Alison]

If you don't like Quorn use something like puy or brown lentils. Let it simmer down for a few hours...

Puy lentils make a lovely mix, if cooked properly till they're lovely and soft and with tasty ingredients then it makes a bolognaise pretty similar to a beef one.

[COMPOST CORNER]

I use:
veg oil
mince
onion
garlic
tinned toms
oxo
Morrisons italian dried herbs
Tomato Ketchup
Mushrooms
Red wine or a splash of ale
Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce (No other will do!)
Black Pepper
Soy Sauce.
Occasionally, gravy granules, if the 'shrooms have let out a lot of juice.

[Birdie Wife]

We've been getting quite a bit of venison offal recently, and I mince the hearts 'cos they make the most fanstastic lean mince. So...

red onions, fried until quite dark
heart mince
pinch of chilli flakes, black pepper, bay leaf or other spices
crushed garlic
carrots or mushrooms
splash of red wine vinegar
canned toms
lots of herbs
bit of vege stock

This also makes amazing mince and tatties if you leave out the canned toms, garlic and herbs, and add fennel seeds with the other fried spices. Add a couple of tablespoons of of plain flour before the red wine vinegar, stir around well and add more vege stock. Gorge-ous!

[SarzWix]

I've never had puy lentils, must look out for them. We occasionally use no meat/substitute at all, just add extra veg, or use ordinary lentils instead. I haven't bought a jar of Dolmio for about 3 years though; if we've run out of our own frozen or canned/jarred tomatoes, I use organic tinned instead.

[HeyWayne]

Veggie Spaghetti Bolognese:


If you don't like Quorn use something like puy or brown lentils. Let it simmer down for a few hours...

*Daft question alert*

Do you pre-soak the lentils, or just bung em in?