Sunday's lunch — W cooked spaghetti bolognese!
Sunday home lunch — W cooked spaghetti bolognese. The classic Italian-American comfort pasta with proper slow-cooked meat sauce.
Sunday lunch at home — W (BB) cooked spaghetti bolognese. The classic Italian-American comfort pasta with proper slow-cooked meat sauce.
BB made:
- Spaghetti (dried, boiled to al dente)
- Bolognese sauce (slow-simmered meat ragu)
- Grated parmesan
- Fresh basil
Spaghetti bolognese is the dish that pretends to be simple but rewards patience. The proper version isn’t a fast-cook tomato-meat sauce — it’s a slow ragu that takes 90 minutes minimum on the stove, building layers of flavour as the sauce reduces and the meat tenderises.
BB started the sauce the right way. Soffritto base — finely diced onion, carrot, celery sweated in olive oil until soft and starting to caramelise. The soffritto is the foundation of any Italian ragu and skipping it (or rushing it) shortcuts the whole dish.
Minced beef (and sometimes pork) added next, browned in stages so each piece develops the maillard reaction rather than steaming in its own juice. The browning is the second flavour layer — caramelised meat surfaces add depth that raw mince can’t.
Tomato added in — paste first to deepen the colour and concentrate the flavour, then canned chopped tomatoes for the bulk. A splash of red wine for acid and depth.
Then the slow simmer. 90 minutes on low heat, stirred occasionally, with the sauce gradually thickening as the moisture evaporates. The connective tissue in the meat breaks down, the tomatoes lose their raw edge, and everything comes together.
Spaghetti boiled in well-salted water to al dente. Drained, with a splash of pasta water reserved.
Plated: spaghetti tossed in the bolognese sauce, generous grating of parmesan, fresh basil torn over the top.
The proper bolognese eats like a meal that took the right amount of time. Slow-cooked depth, balanced acidity, tender meat, al dente noodles. BB had clearly been practising the recipe through lockdown.
A small green salad on the side for the fresh-and-bitter component.
Sunday home pasta cooked by BB — among the better lockdown-era domestic developments.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Excellent home bolognese — keeping BB on the Sunday rotation.
