Over the years my version of Spaghetti Bolognaise took on a life of its own as I threw in every Italian sounding ingredient that I had in the pantry. I’m not saying that it didn't taste good, it’s just that it wasn’t the real deal and it would probably have Italians everywhere scratching their heads. Couple this with the discovery that Spaghetti Bolognaise is not really an Italian dish, apparently no self-respecting Italian would ever serve spaghetti with a meat sauce! So I decided to bring the recipe back to its original form. Two things you must stick to in this recipe even though it is going against everything you ever knew about Spaghetti Bolognaise, do not add garlic and do add the milk at the end. So let’s get cooking!
Ingredients (Feeds approx. 6 people)
· 2 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 medium carrot
· 1 celery stalk
· 1 medium onion
· 300g beef mince
· 300g pork mince
· 240ml red wine (optional)
· 2 tablespoons tomato paste
· 400g tomato pasatta
· pinch salt (optional)
· pinch pepper
· 1 whole bay leave
· 80mls milk
Directions
1. Cut the carrot, celery and onion very fine (or blitz in a food processor but be careful not to turn it to pulp)
2. In a medium to large heavy pot add the olive oil and chopped vegetables, cook covered on low heat (stirring occasionally) until onion is transparent. Soffritto!
3. Increase the heat to medium and add the beef and pork mince. Stirring as the meat is cooking to break up the pieces.
4. Once the meat has browned turned the heat up to high and add the wine.
5. Cook until the alcohol has evaporated and the liquid has almost evaporated.
6. Lower the heat to medium/low and add the tomato paste, pasatta, salt, pepper and bay leaf.
7. Lower the heat to the lowest setting, cover and let simmer for three hours, or for as long as you can wait! (the mixture should not boil).
8. After the time has passed remove the bay leaf and add the milk, heat thoroughly for a couple of minutes.
Serve over cooked pasta. Enjoy!
