Spaghetti with traditional bolognaise ragu

Everybody and I mean everybody has a version of a Bolognese sauce that they claim is the best… no one can beat mine they say. I have tasted many sauces over the years …some good, some ok, some that have caused me not to be able to eat spaghetti bolognaise for a very long time.

I once watched a cooking program and a celebrity chef (I wont say who) was filming a segment with his mother on how to cook the perfect Bolognaise sauce … I watched with anticipation, waiting for the perfect recipe for this luscious sauce to be handed to me. Unfortunately I was forced to watch in sheer horror as a horrendous concoction or fatty mince; condensed tomato soup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sweet chilli sauce and few other hideous condiments and spices were added to a pot and boiled rapidly for what seemed like eternity … I was disgusted and questioned WHY that was allowed to be aired. To this day I refuse to go to the restaurant owned by the offending‘chef’ nor have I ever been able to look at condensed soup the same way. Please excuse my ranting...I just felt I needed to share that.

This is my version of a Traditional Bolognaise Ragu, I have spent a long time perfecting this recipe and I happen to think its pretty amazing…Now please don’t be alarmed by adding milk, this method is used throughout Italy and somehow magically brings the sauce together making it deliciously rich and gloriously tasty. 

Serves 4

250grams Beef mince

250grams Pork mince

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large bottle of tomato passata

1 large onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

2 ribs celery finely diced

3 fresh bay leaves

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup full cream milk (don’t bother with skim)

400grams dry spaghetti

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large heavy based pot, add onion, carrot and celery and cook over a medium for 5 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaves and cook for a further 3 minutes. You don’t want the vegetables to burn or colour to much as it will ruin the flavour of the sauce.

Turn up the heat and add the white wine. When the wine in bubbling add the mince and stir until combined well and the colour has changed. At this stage season with sea salt and black pepper. Add passata and beef stock, turn down heat and simmer sauce partially covered with a lid for 2 hours stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on your sauce as if it starts to dry out you will need to lower the heat further and add more beef stock. After 2 hours add the milk and cook for a further 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and adjust the seasoning to taste.

To serve cook spaghetti according to directions in a pot or salted boiling water. You can add sauce on top of your spaghetti or mix it together and cover in parmesan cheese (like it do)

Notes – you don’t have to use spaghetti, I just happen to like it.