Something for the weekend

Bolognese Sauce - a large amount to freeze.  Make this on a weekend.  If it is going to be good it will need to simmer a long time.

Now pasta is a tricky one.  Well it is for me anyway.  Take spaghetti for instance.  I always cook too much.  I measure out the ‘recommended serving‘   I then, without fail, scoff and add three more strands, then another two and then another ten more. And then another five on top of that.  I just can’t quite believe that the initial piddling amount will feed me.  I then ladle over a literally staggering amount of Bolognese until my bowl resembles Mount Etna and then bless my volcano with a snow field of parmesan and a whole bag of basil (well it never keeps once the bag is open does it?) Now, despite being barely able to lift the plate, (oh the shame) I eat it.  All.

I say again, pasta is a tricky one for the solitary diner.

I need to trust those ‘recommended servings’ I really do.  

Additionally so many recipes are of the ragu variety.  It is far too easy when one has a cast iron pot of rich tangy sauce to get a tad carried away when serving oneself.  This is why I have started to cook a huge vat of the stuff to freeze in individual portions.  The time investment is worth it.  I promise.

For the sauce you will need

2 packs of beef mince (supermarkets often often have a deal on multiple packs and it is shame for the solitary diner to miss out on these things)

4 large onions chopped

6 cloves of garlic chopped or squished in a pestle and mortar

4 tins of chopped tomatoes

2 generous tablespoons of tomato puree

1 pack of of smoked (it absolutely must be smoked) streaky bacon finely sliced

4 sticks of celery peeled with your vegetable peeler and then sliced into thin crescents

4 large carrots again peeled with your vegetable peeler and chopped into slightly smaller than a dolly mixture sized cubes (thank you Nigel Slater for the size description!)

A tub of chicken livers (feel free to omit these if your gag reflex has just been initiated although it really does make a (positive) difference) icky grisly bits removed and the rest minced up with your chef’s knife - do this last because it makes a gobby mess of the chopping board

4 bay leaves

A third of a bottle of red wine if you have any kicking around, otherwise 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

A dessertspoon of caster sugar

Method

Take your large cast iron casserole or the largest cooking vessel you have and place over a medium heat with enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan.

Throw in the onions, celery and bacon.  Stir with a wooden spoon and sweat down (slightly repulsive sounding phrase which just means soften without  browning) for about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time to stop things sticking.  This is when you put the television on in the kitchen, pull up a stool and have a glass of wine.  You could also put a load of washing on I suppose or sort your receipts.  Whatever, it takes much longer to soften vegetables than you think.

Once you think the vegetables are soft enough tip in the beef and garlic and muddle it all around so that everything is all mixed up.  Now you need to brown the meat so keep stirring until there are no pink bits left. 

Now chuck in the wine or balsamic vinegar and turn the heat up.  Boil off the liquid until things start to smell good and savory and not vinegary anymore and put in the tomatoes, swilling out the tomato cans with water from the tap and adding the resulting liquid as you go.  You want the contents of the pan to be barely covered by liquid. Add the chicken livers, puree, bay-leaf and the sugar.

Now turn the heat down as low as it will go and put the lid on.  You could also put the casserole in the oven at 160.  You want to cook this for as long as you can.  We are looking for 2 to 3 hours. Check it from time to time to make sure it is not dry and sticking (add more water if you need to) and taste for seasoning.

When it looks dark and rich and smells deep and tangy; basically when you drool when you lift the lid turn the heat off and let the whole thing cool down.  You can usually leave it overnight without risking tummy troubles.  When it is stone cold decant into individual clip boxes and freeze.

Things to do with your ragu

Put it on spaghetti.  Obvious.

Lasagna for one

In addition to an individual tub of Bolognese sauce you will need:

1/2 pint milk (not skimmed milk)

1 level tablespoon of plain flour

1 desert-spoon of butter 

A glug of olive oil

A sturdy grating of nutmeg

1 bay-leaf

3 or 4 peppercorns

A decent handful of grated mature cheddar

2 lasagna sheets

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180.

Put the milk, bay-leaf, peppercorns and onion and carrot in a non stick pan and heat until the milk just boils.  Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least 10 minutes whilst you get on with defrosting the Bolognese sauce, changing into your comfies and feeding the cat.

Sieve the infused milk into a jug, chuck the debris and clean the pan.

Now melt the knob of butter with a glug of olive oil in your non-stick saucepan over a medium heat.  Once the butter has melted  stir in the level tablespoon of plain flour and cook, stirring, until you start to see the fat ooze out of the mush.  

Take the pan off the heat and, whisking frantically (or not, depending on the day you have had} incorporate the milk until smooth. Do not panic if you get lumps.  They normally vanish if you continue to whisk.  If not just put the sauce through the sieve. Cook over a low heat for 2 or 3 minutes until the mixture is ‘plopping’ nicely (you will know it when you see it).   Remove from the heat and add the grated cheese and as much nutmeg as you fancy.

Put half of the Bolognese sauce in the lasagna dish and top with a sheet of lasagna.  The lasagna sheet does not have to fill the dish. In fact,  I think it is better if it doesn’t and there is a nice bit of space around your saucy mattress for cheese sauce to slither into and get all gooey.

Put in the other half of the Bolognese and plonk on the second lasagna sheet.  Smother the lot with the cheese sauce and bake in the oven at 180 for half an hour or until things are bubbling and toasty. Good with a hunk of bread and a plain green salad made from butter-head, or what we, in my family, call ‘old fashioned’ lettuce. 

Incidentally, if you are bored one weekend you could make up 4 portions of milk sauce (béchamel) by (I state the obvious here) quadrupling the ingredients above and freezing the result in individual portions. It freezes surprisingly well. Leave out the cheese though.  

Other ideas:

Add a splash of cream to the ragu and serve with cooked pappardelle pasta. Make yourself a thinly sliced tomato and red onion salad to go with it.

Put into a lasagna dish and top with thinly sliced potato and dots of butter.  Bake covered at 180 for half an hour then remove the foil for another 10 minutes or so to crisp up.  Have it with a bag of rocket.

Put into a baked potato.  Decorate with grated cheddar cheese and grill until crispy.  Don’t bother with any vegetables but tell your mother you had broccoli if she calls.