Rob’s Great Bolognese
Like any Aussie kid, spag bol was a staple in our house growing up. The first night of winter school holidays on Rottnest Island, we grommets would gather around a huge pot of spag bol that mom had cooked up. Friday nights during the swimming and rugby seasons, spag bol. I hate to say it now, but I always added mountains of ketchup to mom’s spag bol. My grandad had the secret recipe in our family - no ketchup adjustments required. Having only recently rediscovered it, it was with great affection that I realized our recipes are remarkably similar.
This was the very first recipe I wrote down as a budding home chef, and that very same water-and-food-stained handwritten page has finally made it to digital print. I must say, I’m quietly proud of the progress this sauce has made from the dry, flavourless result of my first attempt as a naive 18-year-old backpacker in Switzerland, to the rich, saucy goodness of today.
What makes this such a flavourful sauce is using both ground beef and pork. I would generally go with a leaner (90/10) high quality ground beef, as the combination with the pork ensures a good balance in the fats department. Fresh herbs - as opposed to dry herbs from the pantry - also give it extra oomph.
I love to cook a big batch — I often double this recipe — and freeze the sauce in 1 pound batches that hold for up to three months.. How to add some life to your defrosted sauce? Toss in a handful of fresh parsley when your sauce is five minutes out from serving. If you have some tomatoes that need cooking, chop them up and throw them in for half an hour. Try it with zucchini noodles instead of pasta - thinly slice the zucchinis long ways and sprinkle some sea salt over them to draw out the moisture before lightly frying them. A Young family favourite for breakfast: leftover bolognese on toasted sourdough with a fried egg on top.
Serves 6 hungry boys
What’s in it
EVOO
1 pound ground beef (lean)
1 pound ground pork
4 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes (San Marzano if possible)
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
1 cup dry red wine
1 parmesan rind
1 3-inch lemon peel
1 3-inch orange peel
3 dried bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon caster sugar
½ cup parsley, chopped
Sea salt
Pepper
1 pound dried pasta
Parmesan, grated, for serving
What you do with it
In a high-sided pan or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of EVOO on medium heat. Add the beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until browned, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, leaving the rendered fat in the pan. Repeat with the pork.
In the same pan, add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, and cook in the rendered fat, stirring periodically, for 20 minutes or until soft. Turn the heat to high, and add the ground beef and pork back in, along with the diced tomato, tomato paste, stock, wine, parmesan rind, lemon and orange peels, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and sugar. Season well with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down low, cover and let the sauce simmer for one hour.
Taste the sauce and adjust for seasoning. Continue to simmer for as long as you have available, up to 8 hours! Five minutes before your designated serving time, mix in the fresh parsley. Serve with a good quality dried pasta, cooked al dente, and a generous dusting of grated parmesan.
