Spaghetti Bolognese
This sauce is ideal for spaghetti, but can be used with any kind of pasta - great for Lasagne as well. This is not a true bolognese, but quite a variation - but very tasty nevertheless! I tend to prepare huge amounts and freeze the stuff in individual portions. I have carefully measured the ingredients and played around with different amounts and found the amounts below to be the best - but please feel free to modify! This will give you a not too salty bolognese with a very slight sharpness to it - my kids eat it as well. If you like your food hot, double the amount of Sambal Oelek. Also, if you like more garlic in your spag bol, feel free to modify the amount.
This sauce is ideal for spaghetti, but can be used with any kind of pasta - great for Lasagne as well. This is not a true bolognese, but quite a variation - but very tasty nevertheless! I tend to prepare huge amounts and freeze the stuff in individual portions. I have carefully measured the ingredients and played around with different amounts and found the amounts below to be the best - but please feel free to modify! This will give you a not too salty bolognese with a very slight sharpness to it - my kids eat it as well. If you like your food hot, double the amount of Sambal Oelek. Also, if you like more garlic in your spag bol, feel free to modify the amount.
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp pepper
- 500 grams beef mince
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 ingredients for the sauce (serves six)
- 650 grams onions
- 4 400-gram tins chopped tomatoes
- 200 grams tomato concentrate
- 8 tbsp olive oil
- 125 milliliters red wine
- 1 splash worcester sauce
- 1 tsp sambal oelek (hot chilli)
- 1 ingredients for the spaghetti (serves six)
- 1 kg spaghetti (decent stuff such as barilla de cecco, etc.)
- 7 liters water
- freshly chopped basil
- reggiano parmesan cheese freshly grated
- Carbohydrate 148.940108943186 g
- Cholesterol 69.3433333333333 mg
- Fat 46.3574016666667 g
- Fiber 11.5055169206361 g
- Protein 39.8113578260625 g
- Saturated Fat 12.5654406666667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (838g)
- Sodium 147.551542441664 mg
- Sugar 137.43459202255 g
- Trans Fat 4.44902333333335 g
- Calories 1184 calories
Step-by-step
- Take the top and bottom off the onions.
- Give me a break about the onion photos - this is done holding a camera in one hand. Cut them into chunky slices. Half the slices ... and now cut them into strips. If your garlic has any green bits inside, take them out - prevents bad breath and indigestion!
- Pour the olive oil into a sizeable saucepan. Now add the chopped onions. These are our dried spices to be added later.
- When the onions have changed colour, add the mince.
- A nice splash of Worcester Sauce won't hurt.
- Fry the mince and the onions until the mince is nice and "crumbly" - we want to get rid of most of the excess moisture.
- Now add the glass of red wine. These are all the dried spices (salt, pepper, paprika, oregano).
- Add the four tins of chopped tomatoes.
- Press the two cloves of garlic into the sauce.
- Add the Sambal Oelek. ... the honey ... and the tomato concentrate.
- Let simmer on low heat for a minimum of 45 minutes - stirring occasionally so it won't burn. This is to reduce the sauce so it will be nice and thick and tasty! I normally simmer the sauce for 2 hours. It does make a difference.
- Then melt some butter in the saucepan.
- add the well drained pasta.
- Now stir while re-heating the pasta in the melted.
- Now stir while re-heating the pasta in the melted butter.
- If you can, get hold of a bit of real parmesan cheese (my brother Gerhard recommends Reggiano) and grate it yourself - it tastes a lot better. And of course a glass of red wine!
Long-simmered meat sauces rely on the Maillard reaction between beef amino acids and reducing sugars to build deep umami profiles while excess moisture evaporates completely. When ground beef hits hot fat alongside heavy amounts of sliced onions, water trapped within the cellular structure of the vegetables releases and must cook off entirely before true browning can occur. Because onions contain high levels of structural water, this phase requires patience; rushing it results in a steamed rather than pan-seared flavor profile. Incorporating red wine introduces organic acids that break down tough connective proteins in the mince while dissolving browned fond stuck to the bottom of the saucepan. Maintaining a low simmer for at least 45 minutes concentrates the tomato paste and chopped tins, allowing pectin structures to thicken the liquid into a dense cling.
Moisture Management and Reduction Dynamics
Controlling the evaporation rate dictates the final viscosity of any tomato-forward ragù. As four 400-gram tins of chopped tomatoes release their water content into the pot, maintaining a gentle bubbling action encourages steam release without scorching the bottom solids. Stirring the mixture intermittently distributes heat evenly across the heavy-bottomed pan surface, which prevents localized burning of the dense tomato concentrate and honey. If the sauce begins sticking prematurely, lower the burner output immediately or introduce a splash of reserved pasta water to adjust the solids ratio back into balance.
Finishing Techniques and Pasta Integration
Boiling one kilogram of spaghetti requires a generous volume of rolling water—specifically seven liters—to prevent temperature drops and starch agglomeration upon insertion. Once drained, tossing the warm noodles in melted butter coats each strand in a hydrophobic lipid barrier that keeps the heavy sauce from slipping off the smooth pasta surface. Finishing plates with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano introduces hydrophobic casein proteins and glutamates, which bond with the lipids in the butter and the acidity of the reduced tomato base to create a cohesive mouthfeel.
