Summer Bolognese

 

I cook a summer style Bolognese as well as a winter style Bolognese so I can enjoy Bolognese all year 'round.

Ingredients

 

• Pappardelle
• Olive Oil
• 2 Anchovy Fillets
• 1 Carrot - Diced
• 1 Stick of Celery - Diced
• 1 Onion - Diced
• 3 Fresh Bay Leaves (dried if you don't have fresh)
• 4 Cloves for Garlic
• 2 Cloves - Ground
• 1 Pinch of Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Cup of White Wine
• 500g of Pork Mince
• 500g of Veal Mince
• 2 x 700ml Bottles of Italian Passata
• Salt
• Marjoram Leaves to Serve
• Parmesan Cheese to Serve

Process

 
1. Heat a drizzle of the olive oil in a pan.

2. Add the carrot, celery, onion and begin to slowly sweat off until well cooked through and translucent.

After a few minutes also add in the bay leaves and the anchovies, cooking through so the anchovies are dissolved.

3. In a frypan, begin browning the meat in batches and set aside until the aromatics are ready.

4. When the aromatics are ready, add the ground clove and cinnamon and cook for a minute or two releasing the flavours.

5. Add the garlic and cook off, being careful not to burn.

6. Add the pork and veal mince and stir through .

7. Add the two bottles of Italian passata and stir through.

8. If mince is still remaining continue browning off in batches and add directly to the other pan.

9. Add the cup of wine to the frypan, deglaze, boil off the alcohol and reduce slightly.

10. Tip the wine mix into the other pan and mix through.

11. Bring to the boil, add a pinch of salt and stir through. Simmer until passata has boiled down and the sauce is rich without being too runny or too thick.

12. Prepare and cook pappardelle.

Serve in pasta bowls on top of pappardelle, topped with marjoram leaves and shaved parmesan.

Of Interest

 

• Timing and the heat of your pans are important when cooking this dish:
• When cooking through the aromatics use a medium heat - be sure not to burn the onion as it can become bitter. The same applies to the spices (don't burn) and the garlic - just cook it through until it starts to smell sweetened.
• When cooking the meat in a separate pan you want the pan to be really hot. You want to cook the meat so it starts to caramelise or brown. If you have brown bits of the meat sticking to the bottom of the frypan then you're on track.
• This is not really a 'one-pot dish'. By adding the meat to the aromatics directly you can still cook the meat through but you create more of a Bolognese stew and lose the opportunity to fry off the meat creating that wonderful caramelisation.
• When you deglaze the pan make sure you use a wooden spoon or your favourite non-scratch utensil and give the fry-pan a good going over when you have put the wine in there. The idea is to wash and rub off the caramelisation that has stuck to the bottom of the fry-pan so you can add these flavours to the Bolognese mix.
• Don't forget the marjoram! Its wonderful fragrance seems to go so well with the veal and particularly the pork in this dish.
• One more thing I like to add is a small drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over the top of the finished dish - extra virgin is not so good for cooking with but by drizzling it over at the end the oil takes in the gentle heat of the dish and creates an amazing aroma characteristic of many Italian dishes.