I like slow one pot cooking, it's easy, and particularly with tomato based recipes almost impossible to fuck up. The only rules you need to remember and the ones your results live and die by is that you can always add spice but never take it out and undercooking can be fixed, but overcooking goes in the bin.. You can have hours to adjust flavours, so take your time, anything underdone in the pan will get slow cooked in the pot.
I love spaghetti bolognese, it's the first thing I ever really cooked and is dead simple. But while the basics are simple, it's also a dish that lends itself readily to small tweaks in ingredients allowing you to create your own definitive version.
45 minutes to prep, 2 or 3 hours to cook with a handy already open bottle of red nearby.
So put on Credence's excellent double album Pendulum and head for the kitchen.
What goes in the pot?
Beef mince 1kg
Pork mince 1kg
Chicken mince (didn't have any)
Beef and Pork stock 1 cup each
Tomato paste Most of 1 tin, reserve some for adding later if needed.
Canned tomatoes 2 tins (whole or diced, no matter)*
Onions 2 large
Garlic 6 cloves
Fresh Mushrooms
For a big pot a tablespoon of;
..Parsley
..Oregano
..Basil
^ more if using fresh leaves.
Some Bay leaf
Shredded carrot, a handful (for Dillinger)
Fresh Ginger ( a thumb joint sized bit)
Some fresh chili
Dried chili
Red wine 2/3 cup or so
Beer as required. Beer is an all purpose liquid additive that adds flavour to any dish. Don't have stock? Use beer.
Parmesan Cheese
Possibly salt (I find stocks in Thailand are loaded with salt so I leave this out until later)
* Whole tomatoes will break down with some help from your spoon after an hour or so and give the dish a rustic feel.
This brand was pretty shite though, some were still green.
Step 1
Everything straight into the pot except the meat, onions, mushrooms, garlic, chili, ginger and chocolate.
Set on a very low simmer. If you used whole canned tomatoes you can mash 'em up a bit to help them break down in the slow cook.
Step 2
Dice all the green stuff, brown it off* and into the pot.
Onions and chili together in one batch, garlic and ginger in another, big cracks of rough crushed black pepper in both. All in the pot.
Lightly saute the mushrooms in a little butter. Into the pot.
^ Even though I specifically reminded her......
*Vegetable or olive oils are not a friend to slow pots, try to use as little as possible. Use bacon grease if your arteries can handle it.
Step 3
Season the meat with fine ground pepper and brown off in batches then into the pot.
Make sure to drain all the fat and water out of the meat before adding it to the pot, it adds a nasty underflavour if not removed.
Thai supermarket mince is loaded with water.
Step 4
Use beer to add any needed pot level top up.
We want to start with a high fluid level.
Bring your pot to the boil and give it 5-10 min or so while stirring and finishing your beer.
Put it down on a moderate to low simmer with pot lid on and start on the open bottle of wine.
Step 5
Go somewhere comfortable with your wine and relax to the rest of Credence.
After 30 min, go open your pot, it should smell wonderful. Have a taste and adjust any flavours that haven't developed. Leave simmering with the pot lid open a few inches, give it a stir and a taste every now and then. This lets the sauce reduce a little and also fills your house with the smell of little Italy.
About an hour and a half in on a very low simmer
This scum is oil from the meat or browning, use a spoon to remove it before the final stirring.
Add a little more fresh basil and Done!
Step 6
Do your pasta in salty water, if a bit sticks to the wall when thrown it is aldente..
Plate up and grab some vino and add a piece of garlic and herb toast for mopping up.
Add some Parmesan
Bellissimo! Justa lika Moma used to make! ........better actually, my Mom couldn't cook worth a damn....but she is a better shopper than Mrs Memory Like A Fuckin Sieve...
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