First off, I’m not Italian. This is a recipe handed down from my mum, which I’ve altered a tiny bit.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium-sized onions, or 1 large onion
- 1lb lean minced beef
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 pint beef stock
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf (I put 2 in)
- olive oil
- 2 glasses wine
- bouquet garni
- 1 oz flour
- 1 can chopped tomatoes
- tomato puree
Preparation:
Chop the onion up finely, and heat in the olive oil until soft or lightly browned. Add the crushed garlic for another minute or two of heating.
Add the minced beef and cook until all the pink has disappeared. Add the shredded/grated carrot (this is for taming the acidity).
Add the flour slowly and cook for a short time making sure it doesn’t stick to the pan or clump.
Add the beef stock, tomato puree (I added about 1oz), tinned tomatoes, bouquet garni, and the bay leaves.
I should add here, that this is where I add the wine. My mum adds Cinzano/Vermouth instead, but I prefer the taste of wine in it. It’s up to you though.
Now it came out great, but I was a cheapskate really, and didn’t buy the lean beef. I won’t make that mistake the next time. I made enough for two, and cooked it with fusili pasta, but angelhair is probably better.
If you have any variations on this recipe please post comments, as I’d like to try them. I talked to someone who added mushrooms for example, and one guy who said that spaghetti bolognese is nothing with pork in it. Pork?
Comments welcome!
Update: An updated version of this recipe now includes some nutmeg and chopped mushrooms. The nutmeg is barely perceptible, but if you put about a quarter of a nutmeg in, you can just taste it, quite nice.
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