How to Be a Better Cook by Lorraine Pascale

Author:Lorraine Pascale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2014-08-19T16:00:00+00:00

Top tip

If you can’t find a wire rack that will fit in the oven, that is okay. Cooking it wire-rack-style just means that air can circulate around the meat as it cooks so it will cook more evenly, but it is fine if you don’t have one.

Slow-and-Steady Bolognese Sauce with Rosemary and Garlic

If your family are anything like mine, wholewheat spaghetti receives an emphatic no at my house. So, I had to take matters into my own hands in a bid to get them to eat it. Each time we had spaghetti, or any other of its Italian friends, I would substitute the tiniest portion of its better-received white cousin for a little of the wholewheat hearty stuff. We are now at 80 per cent wholewheat pasta and 20 per cent of the other stuff and so far not a peep of a complaint from the hungry mouths at the kitchen table. Give it a go, little by little. week by week; smother it with a good sauce and hopefully they will never know. It can be our little secret!

Serves

4–6

2 tsp sunflower oil

1kg lean minced beef

2 rashers of Danish smoked back bacon, trimmed of any fat, finely diced

2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes

200ml red wine or beef stock

1 large onion, very finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 stick of celery, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp tomato purée

Leaves from 1 sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped (to give about 1 tsp)

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

400g spaghetti, preferably wholewheat

1 tsp sugar (optional)

Leaves from ½ bunch of fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Equipment

Slow cooker (optional)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Working in batches, sear the minced beef for about 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown all over. Use a slotted spoon to scoop it out into the slow cooker bowl as you go, leaving the oil behind in the pan for the next batch. Sear the bacon in the same way. I did think I could skip this step, but the meat tasted rather unpleasant, so browning the meat seems to be a crucial step in getting a tasty spag bol.

Add all the remaining ingredients, except the pasta, sugar and basil or parsley to the slow cooker. Stir well together and season with salt and pepper. Pop on the lid and cook for 6–7 hours on low.

About 10 minutes (or however long it says on the spaghetti packet) before the sauce is ready, cook the pasta according to the pack instructions. Once ready, drain and set aside with a lid on to keep warm.

Taste the bolognese sauce and adjust the seasoning to just the way you like it. If the sauce is too tart, add the sugar to sweeten it slightly.

Tip the pasta into the sauce, add the basil or parsley and stir through, then divide among four or six bowls and serve.

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