The great spag bol debate

[SteveD]

A lot of authentic italian dishes are very simple. The best Pizza is the simplest, ask any Italian gandmother. I saw a program where Antonio Carluccio prepared bolognese sauce, and it had very little in it, mince, garlic, onion, and not much else.

On the other hand, a recipe I've used called 'ragu bolognese' has:-

Onion, Celery, Carrots - the Italian holy trinity. Garlic, Streaky bacon (Pancetta), Beef Mince, Chicken Livers, chopped.

Veg sweated first and then meat items added and fried up..then, Vermouth, or white wine added.

Then, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, & beef stock. Sod fresh tomatoes, the Italians use tinned ones, so why not.

Season with oregano, nutmeg, salt, pepper. Cook minimum one hour, longer the better.

Stir in some cream just before serving.

It makes a very smooth and rich tasting sauce. The chicken livers and bacon add further interest.

[ColinKeb]

Then, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, & beef stock. Sod fresh tomatoes, the Italians use tinned ones, so why not.

if you want british tomatoes to taste better (and lets face it if youve got them from a supermarket they cant taste worse) chop them up then get a hot pan, add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar then a teaspoon of sugar then as it hissess away chuck in your tomatoes. they will taste well different.

[Chris The Fish]

sweat off onions and garlic (as much as you like),
add mince (fresh mince, not that supermarket shi'ite)
add a desert spoon of freshly ground pepper and sea salt
oxo cubes (2+, depends on size of batch)
2x cartons of pasata
2x tins of chopped toms
bookay of fresh herbs (oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, bay, basil)
sliced mushrooms
dash of the L&P Whorechestershiresheer sauce
dash of balsamic
glass of vino rougio
bish bash bosh
et voila
lubberly jubberly




milk? are you nuts!!

[oblivious]

If you want to reduce the bitterness of caned whole tomatoes, sieve out as much of the seeds as possible, this should help to lover it. It’s more beneficial for a standard alone tomato sauce for past but can hurt the Bolognese

[ColinKeb]

or grow your own, a couple of plants wont take up much room and can even go into pots or bins. you dont need a green house for many varieties now either . add plenty of feed and they will taste spot on

[BarrowBoy]

This shouldn't be a debate at all. Nowhere in Italy will you find Spaghetti Bolognese - it's an anglicised version of Italian food.

Many Italians will eat eat Bolognese with tagliatelle - but with spaghetti? Never!

[Martin the fish]

This shouldn't be a debate at all. Nowhere in Italy will you find Spaghetti Bolognese - it's an anglicised version of Italian food.

Many Italians will eat eat Bolognese with tagliatelle - but with spaghetti? Never!

Exactly. Ever tried getting spag bol in italy? You can't. Tried getting bolognase in italy? I couldn't.
Ragu is very common though and is slightly different in each region.
Just recently young sicilian chefs have stopped using garlic-to the horror of the elder chefs.
Don't use mince-Italians cringe at the sight of our mince. Use some chuck steak and whizz it up in a blender(same for chilli). This will give you little bits, medium bits and good sized bits. Just like a proper Ragu.

Spag Bol is a pom dish and should be celebrated as such. Like Beef Wellington. Very English but almost identical to the french version. Fillet of Beef en croute.

[Stonechat]

The best tasting tomatoes are outdoor grown. They taste 100 times better than any you can buy in any supermarket. I usually grow about 60 plants on the allotment,enough for eating fresh, giving away and freezing. Just freeze them whole in pasta sauce size portions and when ready to use in sauces dip them in boiling water and the skins pop off.

The only down side is blight, which seems to happen every other year,but it's worth persevering for the good years.

For a really tasty and piquant flavour to your bolognese sauce add a can of anchovies

[Martin the fish]

Who said anything about it being Italian, personally I don't eat foreign muck

btw what examples of NZ cuisine can you offer...witchetty grubs on a bed of prehistoric tree fern leaves maybe ?

Those grub things are Oz grub. They taste like really sweet peanut butter. yes i have tried them-i quite liked them.
NZ cuisine is based around seafood and venison. A typical NZ dish is believe it or not-Fish and Chips. They claim to make the best fish and chips in the world. Not so sure about the chips but the fish here is bootiful.

Crayfish are popular. And free.
I cut my cray in half lengthways. Place flesh side down on a hot BBQ while i grate some cheese and grab some chilli sauce. After you've grated the cheese you turn the cray onto it's shell side and sprinkle over the grated cheese, adding a good dollop of chilli sauce. Then you open a beer. Cray is done now so you drink beer and eat cray.

What could be easier?

[Stonechat]

The best fish&chips can be had in Aldeborough in Sunny Suffolk. Make sure you join the queue early But whatever the wait is, it will be worth it.

[Bryggmester]

I have heard that the fish and chips in Aldeborough are good but the best we have ever had were at the Magpie Cafe in Whitby. Unfortunately it was "discovered" by Rick Stein a while back and so the queues got even longer.

[Martin the fish]

Mangonui fish and chip shop is world famous apparently????

I thought world famous meant that the majority of people across the world had heard of it. Like Elvis, Jesus, the Beatles etc. How many of you have heard of Mangonui fish and chip shop?

Case closed.

[stevezx7r]

Back to spagbol, my secret ingredient is Balsamic vinegar. It has the sweet taste people get from adding ketchup and also the bitterness of vinegar which goes well with the tomatoes.


My recipe would be something like -

Minced beef (I mince my own).
Garlic - 4 good sized cloves. Finely chopped.
Herbs - Everything from rosemary to basil, it all works.
Fresh tomatoes. Tins are fine too.
Tomato puree.
Onions - as many as you like, I use three medium sized ones.
Balsamic vinegar, good splash.
Mushrooms/carrots are optional, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.
Pepper/Salt.
Olive oil.
Spaghetti. The best you can afford - it makes a difference.
A good hard italian cheese i.e. parmasan

I tend to fry the lot in a large pan and then simmer, lid on for at least 30 mins, pref. an hour at least, 15 mins from the end heat the water, 10 mins from end, add spag to water, add pinch of salt/olive oil. Drain spag, serve asap with bol all over it then grate some cheese over the top. A nice crunchy garlic bread always goes down well too, and a glass of rioja.

Never be tempted to use dry herbs, get some fresh from the shops or grow your own.

[MightyMouth]

This shouldn't be a debate at all. Nowhere in Italy will you find Spaghetti Bolognese - it's an anglicised version of Italian food.

Many Italians will eat eat Bolognese with tagliatelle - but with spaghetti? Never!

Rubbish, my wife is Italian and I tell you first hand they do eat Spaghetti Bolognese in Italy, We visited her relatives in Avellino and they served Spaghetti Bolognese as part of the first meal we had there.

[lordnoise]

For my money the simplest thing you can do to improve any sauce based recipe is get rid of those nasty processed 'industrial food' stock cubes.
Good stock doesnt have to be a PITA timewise or financially - simply bung everything you cant eat from a roast chicken (add left over veg too) into a pressure cooker with water to cover and cook for 30 mins. If you have too much either freeze it or drink as chicken soup. Works in sauces no matter what the meat. Also a 'big up' for nutmeg and adding in diced sundried tomatos 15 min from end from me.