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A warm bowl of spaghetti bolognese will always be on my top list of comfort food. I used to be constantly in search of the perfect recipe until I was introduced to this one created by my magician-in-the-kitchen friend Mae Dichupa.
Mae’s version of this classic meat sauce has the perfect amount of flavour in every bite — this is due to the recipe’s generous amounts of bacon, red wine, and cream. Simmered over low heat for over two hours, her interpretation of this bowl of happiness is smoky, rich, and one that I never get tired of having.
If you’re ever in need of a perfect bolognese recipe, this is it. Please be sure to send Mae some love if you enjoyed cooking and, more importantly, eating this dish. Hopefully this will encourage her to continue creating delicious meals for us to enjoy.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion
- 1 small carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- 4 cloves garlic
- pancetta/slab of bacon roughly chopped (her recipe says optional — I say don’t scrimp. I use about 5 strips of bacon)
- 1 kilo ground beef (Some people suggest ground chuck but you can experiment – Mae sometimes does parts of beef and pork and even veal)
- 400 grams canned crushed tomato (that’s 2 cans)
- 1 cup wine
- 150 ml all purpose cream
- 500 grams spaghetti
- parmesan cheese (to taste)
- salt & pepper
- oregano (fresh or ground)
- 2 tsps sugar
Procedure:
1. Combine onion, carrot, celery and garlic in food processor to chop finely. Saute in olive oil until cooked.
2. Add bacon until brown. Then add meat and fully cook. This takes maybe 15 minutes. Add wine and reduce. Another 10-15 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes.
4. Add oregano and sugar. (Mae normally seasons as she goes, but that’s up to you)
5. Now simmer for around 2.5 hours on low heat covered. If watery remove the lid to thicken or add tomato paste — I never have to. Be sure to stir occasionally.
6. To end, add cream. Simmer another 15-20 minutes. Taste and season. Sauce is best made 1-2 days before and can be frozen for a month or even more.
7. Cook pasta al dente. I like to toss it with the sauce with parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy! Please be sure to let Mae and I know if you like it.
Thank you, I’ll try this. Would this work if I use imitation/artificial bacon bits? If not, how about Vigan longganisa (skin removed of course).
I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. Especially the longganisa option. Let us know how it goes!
hey! i tried this recipe. I’m not an exact measurer but I think I was close. I only used about half a kilo of ground beef, but used mushrooms in it, too.. Because the husband is trying not to eat heavy at night, I used spaghetti squash for noodles. It was yummy.
So much for substituting the pasta, he ended up eating the rest of the sauce. LOL!
Mushrooms sounds like a great addition. Happy to hear that it worked out! 🙂