My usual

by southport65

1 Comment

  1. My usual “overnight” bolognese recipe…

    Sautee some finely diced pancetta until the fat renders out (in my case was about 100 grams),

    then add in one large finely diced onion, one medium-large fine diced carrot, 1-2 celery sticks fine diced

    sautee all until soft (not caramelized) + make sure to season (salt + pepper to taste)

    I like to then just push all the sauteed stuff to one side (though you could remove it) and then throw down the protein, which is a mixture of beef, veal, pork (I get them in a three-pack), I used about 900-1000 grams this time- I like to put it down in entire chunks so I get more charring/maillard reaction. Then I flip over and do same on other side before breaking up into tiny meat crumbs. Season again at this point, let all water cook out.

    At this point, I add in one small tin of tomato paste and blend it in thoroughly, making sure to let it cook a while, 8-10 min usually.

    At this point, the bottom of your pan will be well-charred. Don’t be scared. That’s all flavour.

    I then throw in about a half a bottle of mine to deglaze the pan and get some more depth of flavour going. I prefer to use a white dry wine.

    Once the wine’s cooked out, I go ahead and add in two cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, a couple of bay leaves, and a cheeky splash of Worcestershire, and a parmesan rind if I have it on hand.

    From that point, I let it simmer on low and cook down for at least five hours.

    Then I let it cool down and place it in some kind of container for the next day. This is the most crucial step- I never eat it same day. It’s more than fine the same day, but it becomes something vastly superior after the ingredients have had all night to mingle with one another in the fridge, doing their thing- the depth of flavour the next day as a result of these flavours/ingredients melding overnight is 20x what it would’ve been at the end of the cook.

    When reheating the following day, I do so on a low heat and like to (don’t shoot me) add a dash of heavy cream just to round out the flavours.

    Normally I do a pappardelle, but this time decided to go with some gnocchi (these were store-bought), and it did not disappoint. It is quite a heavy dish, especially with the gnocchi, but absolutely delicious. Top with parm or pecorino to taste.

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