WAAAYYYY OT: Spag Bol recipes.

[Sifu Ben]

Inspired by the dinner thread, and so as not to sidetrack it, here's my standard spag bol recipe.
1 onion finely chopped
1 large red pepper, deseeded and sliced           cook on medium heat for 10 minutes
2 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
salt and black pepper
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500g lean minced steak                               raise to high heat and brown mince
dash of worcester sauce                              then add other ingredients and cook fo 2-3 minutes
2 tsp balsalmic vinegar
6-8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
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2 tsp sundried tomato paste                      stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute,
2 tsp dried oregano                                    then add other ingredients. Bring to boil
2 tsp dried basil                                          then simmer
1 small carton passata
500ml beef stock
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2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley                     after approx 10 minutes, when the sauce has
                                                                   reduced, stir in parsley, cook for 2 minutes
                                                                   then serve.

let's hear yours.

[WezV]

looks good,  mine is quite similar but less mince and a greater variety of tomatoes,  i use tins rather than passata - and some fresh ones roughly chopped help out a lot.  texture and a different flavour

i go for 30 mins simmering minimum to really make it come together,  and let the meat take on the sauce.  i like them quite thick and rich!!

[Sifu Ben]

Actually, I just realised I don't actually simmer it much, I actively reduce it.
I used to use tins, but you get a thick sauce in a shorter space of time using passata.

[ToneMonkey]

Wifey always makes a ragu mix to base it on.  It's got cellary in there which really packs it out.

[HTH AMPS]

I like to mix the meats a bit too - gives you more complexity.  I use a mix of beef and pork which are all available in the big supermarkets.  Some finely chopped chicken livers are nice in there too (added later).  You can use pancetta (or bacon lardons) if you prefer instead or in addition to the pork mince - gives natural saltiness.

My first step is browning off the mince in small batches so you get the colouration on the mince.  If you cook it all at the same time the juice released from the mince stops it from frying as you'll have too much liquid in there. 

I then set that aside and cook the onion, celery and garlic (crushed and made into a paste with the edge of a sharp knife and some salt to break down the garlic).   

When it comes to the tomato content, I like a mix of tinned tomatoes and fresh to give more depth of flavour.  Depending on how sweet the tomatoes are, you might want a teaspoon of sugar to bring out the flavours.

With herbs, fresh makes a massive difference and all the major supermarkets stock common herbs for under a quid each.  Never used parsley, not sure its something I've ever seen in a Ragu recipe - I'd use Oregano or Basil.

Rather than using all stock, I like to use half stock and half red wine - some recipes say to use all red wine, but it can be a bit too rich imo.  Use a big bodied red like a chianti and don't use cr@p wine - get something you'd be happy drinking as you'll be having that with the meal once it's cooked.

Oh, speaking of cooking, trying putting it in the oven to cook slowly over 2-3 hours on 140degrees (depending on how much you're making of course).

[MDV]

Lots of chili power

And marmite.

[nfe]

Dried herbs?

My ma would kill me if I dared suggest such a thing.

But then I make the pasta itself from scratch too whenever I have time.

[MDV]

Make pasta from scratch?

Insanity.

I use quick cook pasta! Cant even be bothered to wait for normal dried pasta to cook, I'm afraid.

[Sifu Ben]

On the herbs front
Parsley is a very commonly used herb in Italian rustic cooking, it just seems to get overlooked for italian here.
I actually have some fresh basil at the moment, but unless you eat italian every other day, or have a herb garden, it doesn't keep well enough to buy it as a storecupboard item. As I mentioned in the other thread, pesto is a good way round this. If I was making, say, a tomato basil and bacon sauce, I'd get fresh basil, for spag bol (which let's face it is a storecupboard dish) the parsley provides enough fresh herb lift.
I'm not convinced that fresh oregano is actually that superior to dried, and it's a pain to prepare.

I've tried using celery, but while I love it in English and French beef dishes, I find it doesn't work for me in tomato sauces. While it lifts the flavour of the beef, I find it mutes the tomato.

HTH, interesting idea with the mince, but I typically cook it in a wok anyway, so the water evaporates quickly and it browns pretty well ( nothing worse than grey meat in a bolognaise though  :( )

[ToneMonkey]

I sometime's add a bit of balsamic vinigar after I've browned the mince so that it lifts all the nice bits out of the bottom of the pan.  Sometimes add a bit when I'm cooking bacon.  If you add a small splah right at the end of cooking and whirl it around a bit (technical term) then it makes bacon twice as nice.  Sometimes I do it, sometimes I don't depending on how I'm feeling.

Oddly enough, the wife has gone shopping with my mate and it looks like we might have either spag bog or chilli for dinner.

[JDC]

with passata, I always get a thick sauce with a watery bit underneath after I serve it up, any know a way to stop this?

[ToneMonkey]

Drain your pasta better  :D

[Sifu Ben]

A) Drain your pasta better
B) Add the pasta to the sauce, not vice versa.

[JDC]

lol I thought it was the sauce, can't believe it's that, doh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[WezV]

And marmite.

i like marmite in stews and gravy's - not so sure in spag bols.  Its made right here in burton and the factory stinks!!

i just cooked mine for tonight - although its totally unauthentic and mostly influenced by what was in the house...  i know it will be great

firstly some lamb mince, fried till brown then removed from the pan, and drained.   to get rid of some of the fat.

Olive oil in the same pan to fry 1 red onion and one white onion (what i had in), loads of garlic, some rough chunks of chorizo.  fry till you dont want to anymore.

then i add the mince back in, give it a minute or so and start adding flavours.  today is was a oxo, some smoked paprika, a good slug of balsamic, loads of puree and some dried oregano.  this all gets stirred in for a minute or two.

after that it got a tin of chopped tomatoes, a couple of handfulls of  fresh chopped cherry tomatoes and some chopped peppers (i prefer peppers chopped fine and fried at start, fiancee likes them large and with a bit more bite)

then half a head of brocolli and some sweetcorn because we really should be eating more veg ;)  top up with 1/2 a tin of water, put lid on and simmer.

which is where we are at now.  the lid will be removed for the last 10 minutes of cooking, when the pasta is in.  probably in another half hour

i made it quite rich as i have flu and wanted something that may cut through and be a bit warming at the same time