secret ingrediants

[slinky.kate]

i am making spag.bol. the sauce is nice'but'it seems to be missing something to give it oomph'what do you add to bring the flavours out??

[grasscarp]

Thanks Tilly. I will look out for those.

[shivvy]

According to the main man Antonio Carluccio there is no such thing as spag bol. He would say that the sauce is called ragu and that it should be served with tagliatelle and never spaghetti. It isn't supposed to contain garlic and in fact the ingredients are very few. It is in the long cooking of the 2 minces that the flavour comes out. This is his recipe:
http://www.mykitchent...ccio-bolognese-sauce/
I make it regularly and absolutely love it.

[EcclesCake]

Like Shivvy I use a Carluccio recipe but a slightly different version, this is the one I use...

Tagliatelle al Ragu Bolognese

Serves 4

500g (1 lb) fresh tagliatelle or 400g (14 oz) dried egg tagliatelle
60g (2 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated

For the ragu:

55g (1 ¾ oz) butter
55g (1 ¾ oz) minced prosciutto far or pancetta
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
100g (3 ½ oz) minced lean veal or beef
100g (3 ½ oz) minced lean pork
1 glass of dry red wine
A little beef or chicken stock
3 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and pepper

To make the ragu, heat the butter in a large pan, add the prosciutto fat or pancetta, carrot, celery and onion and fry gently for about 10 minutes. Add the minced meats and stir with a wooden spoon to break them up into smaller chunks.

Cook for about 15 minutes to brown the meat, then add the wine and bubble for a few minutes to allow the alcohol to evaporate little. Stir in a little stock to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan. Stir in the tomato paste and dilute with a few tablespoons of stock to give a sauce like consistency. Leave to simmer for 1 ½ hours, adding more stock if the mixture becomes dry. At the end of the cooking time, add a little more stock to obtain a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and mix with the sauce. Serve with the Parmesan cheese.

[Valeriea]

Bay Leaves.

[scarlets fan]

A dash of balsamic vinegar and a small pinch of cayenne pepper.

[erin-x]

Almost the same as Eccles but we don't use prosciutto, butter or celery. We always add chicken stock, lea and perrins and some chili powder. We let it cook for ages too....

[humbersloop]

'bout the same as eccles too, though also with chopped tomatos and chicken livers. Goes in the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours.

[NoMercy]

Red pesto, red wine, ground cinnamon and mace.

[firewatch]

i use a splash of home brewed white wine when i finish frying the veg just before i you ad the tommys

[slinky.kate]

i will certainly try these recipes,thank you all very much

[mikey4444]

Heston Bluminwhatsit uses star annise. I have used a small shake of Chinese 5 spice. It really does make a difference !

[RATTER15]

Im with Pasta and Vodka with some of these suggestions, brown sauce? Branston?

Im sorry but you can no longer call it a spag bol with that stuff in it, (((shudder!!!)))

If my Mother was alive today she would turn in her grave!!!!

[pastafreak]

Here's the recipe I've used. It's by Anna del Conte-certainly an authority on Italian cuisine. Notice the addition of milk....it softens the flavours.
A long,slow cooked sauce like this is a 'ragu'. My mother always left hers to cook while we went to Mass.

Ingredients
60g/2oz butter
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
60g/2oz unsmoked pancetta, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
400g/14oz lean chuck or braising beef, coarsely minced
2tbsp concentrated tomato paste
150ml/5fl oz red wine, such as a Sangiovese or a Barbera
2 pinches of grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
150ml/5fl oz meat stock
150ml/5fl oz full fat milk

Method
Heat the butter and oil in a heavy-based saucepan and cook the pancetta for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onion, and when it has begun to soften, add the carrot, celery, garlic and
bay leaf. Cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Put in the minced beef and cook until it is medium brown in colour and nearly crisp, crumbling it in the pot with a fork. Do this over a high heat so that the meat browns rather than stews, but be careful not to let the mince become too brown and hard.
Add the tomato paste and continue to cook over a high heat fr a further 2 minutes. Still over a high heat, add the wine, nutmeg, salt and pepper and the stock.
Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to very low, so that the mixture will reduce very slowly.
Set the lid askew over the pan and cook for about 2 hours, adding a couple of tablespoons of milk from time to time.By the end of this time all the milk should have been added and absorbed, and the ragù should be rich and thick, like a thick soup.
Taste and adjust the seasoning. The ragù is now ready to dress a dish of homemade tagliatelle, thus producing one of the greatest dishes of Emilia.