Spag bol revisited.

I have been making Bolognese sauce for years, and like all recipes it has been tweaked and added to as new and different ingredients become available. So now it generally includes chestnut or dried porcini mushrooms, olives, basil, oregano or maybe tarragon, toasted pine nuts, mixing in a handful of minced pork, simmering in milk (it really works), pesto, passata and sundried tomatoes and on and on. 

Soffritto!

Soffritto, Italian for "slow cooking" is known as the holy trinity of Italian cooking and it comprises onion, celery and carrots in a 2;1;1 ratio.

The vegetables are finely chopped and slowly, slowly simmered in olive oile with a knob of butter until smooth and pale. The mix can be kept wet with a large glass of white, not red, wine.

White wine and beef stock

White is the wine of choice. Red is too bitter and harsh. Believe me on this!

The meat

A pack of good quality beef mince, about 125g finely chopped chicken livers and three rashers of smoked bacon - or lardons if you prefer.

Fry the bacon to well coloured, add and brown the mince then lob in the liver.

Add the stock and simmer for half an hour before chucking in the rest of the ingredients. 

Flavourings

KISS! Keep it simple.

Tomato puree, salt, pepper, bay leaf, nutmeg, star anise (Oh yes!), garlic and a sprig 'o basil are all you need. Any more and it's back to the bad old days.

(Note flashy showoff use of Honduras red peppercorns and pink Himalayan rock salt!)

And eat...

The thing about a Bolognese sauce is that it is traditionally a brown sauce, not a red sauce laden with tomato. 

Consensus of opinion is that is is great. Different, but very tasty and with the chopped liver adding an unctiousness.

Step away from the pesto and tinned toms!