Since posting my introduction to Claire's Crazy Cakes, Bakes and Kitchen Hacks: Chapter 1, I've really had a tough time deciding where to start! I went through my google drive and my Facebook posts and downloaded all my foodie pictures and sorted them into folders. I do realise that I may have a slight obsession with cooking, but that's definitely not a bad thing (unless you're trying to cut carbs, or calories, or cheese or anything really: basically, if you're on diet, just look away now 🤣).
I may not be Italian, but rather some kind of South African-Anglo-European-cross-breed-pavement-special (German, Scottish, Irish, Jewish, Nordic, Anglo and possibly Polish), but I am sure there must be some Italian blood in me somewhere. Pasta is quite possibly my favourite food, especially if there is even a hint of cooler weather in the air.
That being said, I was "today years old" when I learnt that there is a difference between Bolognese and Bolognaise. Here in South Africa and in Australia, we usually call it Bolognaise, which is not the traditional Italian spelling. It also means we take liberties and "gooi" (Afrikaans for "throw") some interesting, sometimes yummy but certainly not traditional ingredients, into the mix (like bacon: I mean, bacon makes everything better, right?).
But for the sake of being a pasta purist (one may even refer to me as being a Pastafarian), I'm going to separate my pasta recipes into the traditional ones (which may contain one or two hacks and cheats) and the ones with a special "Claire" twist.
I decided to start off with this one for a good reason and if you're going to use my recipes in your own kitchen, this Bolognese recipe will be the base of many other dishes I'll be posting about later on.
Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese
Bolognese Sauce Ingredients:
- A good wide pan with a lid that cooks evenly for browning and simmering
- 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil
- 2 large onions
- half a bulb of fresh garlic - about 8 cloves (can be substituted for three to four large table spoons of crushed garlic but fresh is always better if you can - PRO-TIP: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH GARLIC)
- Two sticks of celery (leaves removed)
- Two medium carrots
- Two green peppers
- 4 large tomatoes
- 500g steak mince/ ground beef
- 400ml wine (literally any wine is fine. It will change the flavour, so it depends on what suits your pallet. Red wine will make the sauce richer ad heavier, while white or rose wines will add delicate fruit and berry noses to your dish - almost like using specific herbs and spices. It also changes the flavour if you choose dry or sweet cultivars, but you will almost never find sweet wine in my house).
- 400 ml water
- Oregano, rosemary, parsley and basil: 1 good pinch of each (I used dried spices here - approximately 1 teaspoon of each, but fresh is always better)
- 1 table spoon of Salt
- tomato paste 100g (I did not have enough fresh tomatoes, so I added an extra packet of tomato paste)
- 100-150ml homemade lard: I used beef sausage lard for this one from our previous evening's dinner
The Pasta
- a large stock pot with a lid
- 500g of good quality spaghetti (the purist in me wants to tell you to use fresh pasta, but that's not readily available here in South Africa and it's very expensive. I'd love to learn to make it. Who knows. I might experiment with that later on).
- 2 litres of rapidly boiling water
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- a pasta strainer
Bolognese Sauce Method:
Start off by chopping the onions because this will be the first thing you'll add to the pan. I use a wooden chopping board because it's kinder on my kitchen knives. You can preheat your pan with 4 tablespoons of olive oil while you're busy chopping your onions.
Add them to the pan, which should be sizzling nicely now, but not burning the olive oil. The idea is to gently brown your onions while you are busy chopping the other ingredients. Add the garlic, salt and herb mix now. If you are using fresh garlic cloves, you'll need to prepare these ahead of time as it's more labour intensive than the crushed garlic I used here.
Once your onions and garlic have started to brown a little, you can add your lard. Your mouth will probably be watering already at this point and your kids/ husband/ partner/ flatmate will be sticking their heads into the kitchen to find out what's cooking! Turn the heat down slightly and go chop the rest of your ingredients, being sure to stir your pan regularly and make sure nothing burns or sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Hollow out your peppers, chucking the stalks and the white bits. You do not, however , have to throw the seeds out. These also add flavour. Chop the green peppers as finely as you can.
Honestly, If the carrots are nice enough, I don't bother peeling them. Grate them using the fine part of the grater because you don't actually want chunky bits of carrot in your Bolognese sauce.
De-leaf and finely chop the celery.
Unfortunately, at this point, I realised I didnt have enough tomatoes!! Oh no. But as explained above, where there is a will, there is a way, and if you've got a well-stocked pantry, they'll inevitably be a hack. I used extra tomato paste. You could also use tomato puree or tinned chopped tomatoes. I carefully cut out the stalk at the top of the two tomatoes I did have with a pairing knife so I didn't waste any tomato. Rosa tomatoes or jam tomatoes are best, but I used salad tomatoes here.
It's time to get back to our pan. Before we add anything else, we're going to cut to the main star of this dish, which is the mince (AKA ground beef). Please don't buy sad mince. Your mince should always have a bit of fat in it otherwise it will be dry and flavourless with an unpleasant texture. You can add this to the pan now and turn up the heat to brown it. Keep stirring to avoid anything burning or sticking to the bottom and you can use your wooden spoon to help you separate any clumps.
Once you're satisfied that your mince is about 3/4 done, you can start adding your other chopped ingredients to brown/ sauté them as well, saving the tomatoes till last.
You can now add in your tomato paste, the wine and the water. Make sure you stir well, combining everything together evenly and set your pan to simmer for as long as you can. I recommend at least an hour. Remember to stir every ten minutes or so.
Spaghetti Method:
It's PASTA TIME!
Prepare your pot by adding two table spoons of olive oil, a teaspoon on salt and two litres of boiling water from the kettle. Put the stove on high. It is of UTMOST importance that the water is BOILING rapidly before you put the pasta in. Any pasta should be served Al dente (soft but still firm) and this is impossible to achieve if your water isn't hot enough. You will end up with mush.
Remember to ensure all the pasta is submerged. The spaghetti will allow you to naturally and slowly push it into the boiling water as it softens. There is absolutely no reason to break the spaghetti in half while it's still raw. You will need to stir every 5 minutes to ensure all the pasta cooks evenly and doesn't stick together. Do not over stir though. You are not making porridge. General cooking time for the pasta is 10 to 15 minutes.
If you're not sure if your pasta is done or not, this is my absolute favourite trick (and the kids think it's pretty neat too):
Yep! That's right. Fish out a strand of spaghetti with a fork and then throw it against the wall. If it bounces, it's not ready. If it sticks, it's done!
Have your pasta strainer ready and waiting in the sink in advance, and empty your pot into it. Go slow and don't burn yourself or allow any pasta to fall into the sink. Shake the pasta around a bit to make sure you get rid of any excess water. If you find your pasta is a bit sticky, you can add a bit of olive oil to loosen it while you toss it around.
Usually, people put the sauce on top of the spaghetti, but since I live with a bunch of heathen children, I ensure I mix the pasta with the sauce for them, otherwise they'll just eat the sauce and leave the pasta behind.
And bippitoboppityboo: Spaghetti Bolognese is ready!! Top with parmesan when serving, or even some grated cheddar for a little added decadence.
Buon Appetito!!