Spaghetti Bolognese

Background: There are many kinds of pasta, but usually one of the pastas that being used had long, thin, and cylinder shape, the shape itself almost the same as noodle shape, but those two are not the same. Spaghetti itself is a food that comes from Italy and become one of their unique dishes.

The basic ingredients of spaghetti are made from ground wheat and water, and also in the beginning of time spaghetti size was very long, but as time pass the size are getting shorter and shorter in 20^th century.

Why does the Spaghetti Bolognese itself was called Bologna/Imola? Because the Spaghetti Bolognese comes from Bologna city, actually this sauce comes from the little city across bologna, which is Imola, the city that located in west Bologna.

At Bologna, this sauce is called as Ragu Alla Bolognese or well known as the name called Ragu, Bolognese sauce was made first time at the end of 18^th century. The flavor of the sauce was dominant of sour sweet that came from tomato dan combined with a rich flavor of beef. The sauce recipe was first publicized by a man called Pellegrino Artusi.

Usually to create Bolognese, the sauce itself was combined with the many various type of food for example; the most common is the sauce was combined with a spaghetti that had a long and thin shape, tagliatelle, or even lasagna.

The original recipe of Spaghetti Bolognese not only use one type of meat to create the food, which is beef. Italian people usually add Pancetta or which usually known as bacon to even produce richer flavor and aroma of the Spaghetti Bolognese.

At Italy, to create a spaghetti usually they cooked till “al’ Dante” which means that the spaghetti was cooked till fully cooked which created a crisp effect when it being eaten. As one of Italy signature dishes. Spaghetti Bolognese usually was served with tomato sauce, meat and vegetables.

The recipe to made Spaghetti Bolognese are as below;

Ingredients of Bolognese Sauce

·        1 tbsp olive oil

·        4 rashers smoked streaky bacon (optional), finely chopped

·        2 medium onions, finely chopped

·        2 carrots, trimmed and finely chopped

·        2 celery sticks, finely chopped

·        2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

·        2-3 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

·        500g beef mince

·        2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

·        small pack basil, leaves picked, ¾ finely chopped and the rest left whole for garnish

·        1 tsp dried oregano

·        2 fresh bay leaves

·        2 tbsp tomato purée

·        1 beef stock cube (optional)

·        1 red chili, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)

·        125ml red wine

·        6 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half to season and serve

·        75g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve

·        400g spaghetti

·        crusty bread, to serve (optional)

Method

·        Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil.

·        Add 4 finely chopped bacon rashers and fry for 10 mins until golden and crisp.

·        Reduce the heat and add the 2 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, 2 garlic cloves and the leaves from 2-3 sprigs rosemary, all finely chopped, then fry for 10 mins. Stir the veg often until it softens.

·        Increase the heat to medium-high, add 500g beef mince and cook stirring for 3-4 mins until the meat is browned all over.

·        Add 2 tins plum tomatoes, the finely chopped leaves from ¾ small pack basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 2 bay leaves, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 1 beef stock cube, 1 deseeded and finely chopped red chili (if using), 125ml red wine and 6 halved cherry tomatoes. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the plum tomatoes.

·        Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hour 15 mins stirring occasionally, until you have a rich, thick sauce.

·        Add the 75g grated parmesan, check the seasoning and stir.

·        When the Bolognese is nearly finished, cook 400g spaghetti following the pack instructions.

·        Drain the spaghetti and stir into the Bolognese sauce. Serve with more grated parmesan, the remaining basil leaves and crusty bread, if you like.