The main secret of most Italian dishes, which include the Bolognese recipe with minced meat at home, is a long cooking time. Sauce "Bolognese" must be cooked for at least 2 hours on low heat. The less the fire and the longer the magnificent sauce languishes, the tastier is the Italian delicacy. In addition, the sauce is light, delicate, its light, shiny and smooth texture delight!
The second nuance of cooking - the sauce must be stirred every 20 minutes. If you do not do this, a wonderful sauce will start to burn and will get an unpleasant bitter taste.
In addition, Bolognese sauce is an excellent addition not only to pasta, but also to climbing - an equally delicious dish. Let's take a closer look at this interesting Bolognese recipe with minced meat at home.
Sauce Benefits
Yes, the dish takes a very long time to prepare, but it is worth noting that the sauce has a number of significant advantages. First, stewed over low heat, the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for 4–5 days. Secondly, Italians often go to the trick: if you pack the finished sauce in small portioned jars and hide it in the freezer, then for several months it will feel great there and you can enjoy pasta at any time without spending several hours on the preparation.
Thus, any Italian sauce can be frozen. Even fresh Pesto sauce is well tolerated by freezing.
Secrets of making Bolognese
There are several secrets to making a good sauce, which Italians use. We are ready to share them with you. First of all, use a container with a thick bottom for cooking - a saucepan is suitable for this. It can be replaced with a thick-bottomed pan, pan or cauldron.
Professional Italian cooks chop vegetables for sauce as finely as possible. For a Bolognese recipe with minced meat, you can use a food processor at home - this will significantly reduce the cooking time and will not affect the final taste.
It is worth saying about celery. If for cooking you use large shoots of celery, it will be better if you clear them of hard fibers. To do this, break the celery in half and part of the skin that looks like rhubarb, pull the villi.
If you cook the sauce in a saucepan, then most of the ingredients should be fried separately: vegetables, meat. It is advisable to perform heat treatment in small portions. In particular, this rule applies to meat. Because the main task of frying is not stewing the minced meat in its own juice until tender, but only getting a light crust. And do not forget to fry the minced meat well during frying so that it contains as little knocked down lumps as possible.
Additives to Bolognese Sauce
A separate topic is various additives and spices for making a delicious Bolognese sauce according to the recipe with minced meat at home.
In addition to standard salt and pepper, as well as a couple of pinch of dried herbs - most often it is oregano, basil, various exotic spices are often added to the sauce. Season the sauce with spices at your discretion, following the taste preferences of family members or guests. For a more interesting taste, a little nutmeg is added, however, you need to be careful with it - this is one of the strongest spices and a large amount of such seasoning can completely block the Bolognese flavor.
Phased fluid addition
There is no definite correct Italian recipe, but there is the main cooking rule - the phased addition of various liquids to the sauce. First of all, any liquid must be evaporated as much as possible. If you use milk or cream for cooking, before you pour them into a saucepan, make sure that you have evaporated the juice of vegetables and minced meat. Next comes the wine - it also needs to be boiled a little to rid the dish of the smell of alcohol, and then evaporate. The same should be done with tomatoes in their own juice and tomato juice.
If you do not use milk in the recipe, then gradually add that juice, then wine, each time evaporating the maximum liquid.
Bolognese Sauce Recipe Ingredients with Minced Meat
So, after we figured out the basic aspects of making Bolognese sauce, and also looked at tips for getting a good sauce, you can begin to familiarize yourself with the cooking process. To prepare this delicious pasta with tomato sauce, you will need these products:
- 600 g of spaghetti;
- 250 g of beef;
- 250 g of pork;
- 300 ml of milk;
- 300 ml dry white wine;
- 400 g of tomatoes in their own juice;
- 1 liter of tomato juice;
- 1 large onion;
- 1 carrot;
- 2 ears of celery;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- 25 g butter;
- 1 tbsp. l olive oil;
- 4 pinches of dried herbs (dill, parsley);
- 3 pinches of ground black pepper;
- 2 pinches of nutmeg;
- 1 tsp salt.
The ingredients for the sauce are simple and affordable, which allows everyone to enjoy the taste and not only on big holidays. And the cooking process is not so complicated, but it takes a lot of time.
Prepare the products for cooking before you start cooking the Bolognese pasta with minced meat according to the recipe.
Cooking process
Begin cooking with the recipe for Bolognese spaghetti with minced meat by slicing vegetables. Rinse and peel the carrots thoroughly, and peel the onion. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater or chop in a food processor. It can also be cut into very small cubes. Grind onions and celery ears similarly.
Melt a piece of butter in a pan and mix it with a tablespoon of olive. Put the vegetables in a preheated pan and fry a little until transparency appears. It is not necessary to brown vegetables until golden brown.
Next, prepare the stuffing. If you are using a whole piece of meat, twist it in a meat grinder. You can add various spices, salt and pepper during cooking.
Put the minced meat in a pan for vegetables, mash it with a spatula so that it does not catch during frying in large lumps. Knead it with a silicone or wooden spatula.
To make Bolognese, you need tomatoes in your own juice. Open the jar, take out the tomatoes and chop a little. It is best to buy canned tomatoes already peeled. They can be crushed directly in the bank, piercing with a knife and leading from edge to edge. If you are using skinned tomatoes, remove them from the can. Let the juice drain a little. Remove the peel and chop the flesh on the board. A thick tomato skin can ruin the look and texture of the sauce.
Watch the cooking process. Your task is to evaporate all the liquid from the pan, while constantly stir the ingredients so that they do not burn.
Adding wine, milk, juice
When all the liquid has evaporated, you can add milk. It must be brought to a boil over medium heat. After boiling for a couple of minutes, reduce the heat to a minimum. Stir the food periodically and evaporate the milk. If the milk is curdled in a pan, it's okay.
At the next stage, after milk, dry white wine is added to the stewpan or pan with a high bottom. Red can also be used to make a Bolognese recipe with minced meat at home.
Let the wine boil too. Boil it with ingredients for 2-3 minutes to evaporate alcohol. Mix the ingredients again, reduce the heat to a minimum and evaporate the liquid. Do not forget to stir the ingredients so that the meat and vegetables do not burn.
After the wine, according to the Bolognese recipe with minced meat at home, tomatoes are used. Frying them together in a pan for 3-4 minutes, add salt to taste and spices: pepper, dried herbs, nutmeg, rosemary, thyme.
Add tomato juice to the mixture, bring the liquid to a boil. Then cover and simmer over low heat for about 2 hours. Stir the sauce every 15–20 minutes, taking a spatula from the bottom so that the dish is evenly stewed and not burnt.
Innings
For several hours of languishing, the sauce is boiled about 2 times. The main secret of the great taste of this dish is long stewing over low heat.
The sauce is ready, it remains only to boil the pasta according to the recommendation on the package, put them on a plate, pour in aromatic sauce. Spread not only meat, flavor pasta and tomato broth.
Before serving, sprinkle the dish with fresh herbs and cheese, decorate with fresh vegetables.
This wonderful recipe with Bolognese mincemeat photo will definitely be to your taste. After all, this Italian dish is perfect for both a festive table and a family home dinner. Making the sauce takes a lot of time, but in this case it is definitely worth it.
Be sure to try this great Italian dish. Enjoy your meal!