Making a good spaghetti sauce is something everyone should be able to do. And there are an awful lot of great ones out there that are quick and easy to do; one of my favourites being garlic and olive oil which can be done in about three minutes. However, for most people when you say spaghetti sauce, they automatically going to think of meat sauce, or Bolognese. And here is where is gets difficult because there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of variations.
I have read quite a lot on the subject, and I have found out several factors that run through most of the recipes - a kind of common thread if you will.
1/ It takes a while. Plan on 3-4 hours. Yes, I have done a few that have been ready to eat in an hour or less, but you will end up sacrificing that depth and layering of flavour that long cooking gives you. The sauce will be fine, don't get me wrong, but there is no substitute for long and slow cooking.
2/ Umami - and lots of it.
OK so I lied. There are just two.
The following is pretty much my default recipe for Bolognese sauce - feel free to add/subtract/change it in any way.
You are going to start with about 4-5 slices of bacon, or pancetta, diced, plus one finely diced onion and a couple of cloves of garlic. Actually, while you are at it finely dice another onion and some more garlic and set it aside. Do the same with a large stalk of celery and a medium carrot (you can grate the carrot if you like).
In a hot saucepan with some olive oil, add your bacon or pancetta and brown. Then in go the onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook on medium-high heat till the onion starts to change colour, then add your ground meat - about 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. You can use ground beef, or a beef/veal mix, or any ground meat I suppose. I like a somewhat fatty mix - not the extra lean stuff. If I am being really serious I buy the meat whole and grind it myself.
The meat is now browning nicely, and so to this you are going to add around 1/4 or 1/2 bottle of white wine. This you are going to keep on high heat until it is almost all gone, then add a whole can (16 oz) of diced Roma tomatoes. Here you can add seasoning: salt, pepper and a couple of bay leaves are a must, oregano or basil are good too at this point. Dried is fine as it is going to cook for a while. Once it is bubbling, turn the heat right down and put a lid on it. This is going to keep going for around an hour or so. Keep an eye on it so it doesn't stick.
After an hour, take off the lid so the liquid begins to reduce. You want to end up with a reasonably dry mixture.
In a separate pan with hot oil add your remaining onion and garlic. Take another whole can of tomatoes and strain off all the liquid. Once the onions are brown, add your strained tomatoes and turn the heat down and add seasoning - salt and pepper. Stir in a couple of tablespoons of ketchup and a tablespoon worcestershire sauce. A bay leaf or two is nice. This will cook slowly for another hour.
While this is happening, watch the meat carefully, adding liquid (wine or water) if it gets too dry and sticks. Do the same with the tomatoes but add olive oil.
At the end of the hour, add enough olive oil to the tomatoes so it just covers, and then raise the heat. You want it bubbling. Fry the tomato for about five minutes, then strain the oil.
Add the tomato to the meat and combine, keeping the heat low. Here you can add a little of the tomato juice you strained off. This will go for another 30 minutes or so.
Taste and adjust seasoning and you are good to go. If I have fresh basil I add it at this point just to refresh it. It will stir in and disappear quickly.
Spoon over pasta, sprinkle with parmesan and serve. If you have done it right it should look something like this:
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