Food

Basically vegetables, then meat, add loads of milk, let evaporate, then add wine, let evaporate, then tomatoes. If I remember correctly.

The Italian Government recently published clear instructions on how to make a traditional ragu.

From the website of Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Italian Academy of cooking)

What does the milk do?

Make people go 'Whaaat!?' when you reveal it's the secret ingredient.

I know it's probably heresy but if you want to make a thick tasty tomato sauce in 5 minutes rather than 4 hours, blend a jar of sundried tomatoes in olive oil with a tube of tomato puree then cook out and water down to your desired consistency. Always good, always easy

That sounds intense

Cheers all. Think I may have to try a few of those and see what hits the sweet spot of ease/taste. Today was the first day I heard of adding milk to it.

i had a bit of an obsession with ragu for a while, and tried most of the classic Italian recipes and a few others. My conclusion are that some items are essential, some optional, and if not on this list then definitely should not be included (e - essential, o - optional):

soffritto (finely diced onion, carrot and celery) - e
olive oil - e
butter - o (p)
minced beef - e
minced pork - o (however a mix of up to 50% pork with beef is optimal (p))
chicken liver - o (p)
pancetta - o (p) (streaky bacon is acceptable substitute imo)
passata - e
tomato puree - e
chopped tomatoes - o
white wine - e
red wine - o
milk - o (p)
stock - o
sugar - o (p) (but why not? it adds richness and depth of flavour)
salt and pepper - e
nutmeg - o

cook for min 2 hours.

the optional items i've marked (p) for preference are what I would typically include.

I personally think this sort of recipe absolutism is bollocks - if you want garlic in your ragu, who gives two shits what the society/academy/institute of self important arseholes think

I am making cumberland sausage, red pepper and sage ragu tonight and it's brilliant

Edit - not a dig at Chas but at the Academia

i must admit - i do sometimes add garlic :)

i think there is a point at which it becomes something else, if you deviate a lot from the base recipe. and that's fine, it's just something else, not ragù alla bolognese or whatever.

Ha yeah, no garlic but go ahead and put some fuckin peas in there

I think I said it on here before, if you want a good Italian gravy / sauce then have some fun watching Goodfellas again and copy the prison recipe

Is it even food without garlic?

On the bolognese topic - where is the post that someone made a few days ago about lasagne?

It involved making meatballs & browning the crap out of them before squishing them.

Possibly me but a few weeks ago. Would have been the BA one by Chris Morocco

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/ba-best-lasagna

Boom.

TIL there's more than one way to spell it.

Cheers.

This is more or less the recipe I use. Very similar to the trullo one.

@TW did you have a sous vide chicken breast recipe?

Does something with the meat, makes a very nice consistency.
Also the vegan Ragu from flavor is over the top. There's garlic, soy sauce and other stuff in there!!!

I mean, that's more or less Hazan, but she does milk before wine.

Also if you do the vegan ottolenghi/belfrage Ragu, white beans make a fun bechamel if you want to go vegan lasagna.

https://www.tkmaxx.com/uk/en/home/kitchen+dining/cookware/pots+pans/24cm-stainless-steel-frying-pan/p/78310891

I know people have mixed feelings about non stick but I really like my Mauviel pans and this is a great price

65° for 105 minutes.

For basic bitch chicken, I usually season, small glug of olive oil, then aromatics of choice, depending what is growing / in the fridge.

Take it out, let it dry, then cold pan with butter to crisp up the skin.

I am wondering if adding some stock to the bag so it’s a pressurised brining and sous vide. Or am I over thinking things?

On the subject of meat sauce I had a craving for meatballs yesterday. Bought some minced beef, pork and a packet of good Cumberland sausages (they were out of the Italian fennel variety) a few tins of good tomatoes and got to work.

Blended the tinned tomatoes and threw them in a pot with some heated olive oil and brought it up to a gentle simmer. Took the sausages out of their skins and they went into the food processor with the mince and two eggs.

Then I used a tablespoon to make rough meatball shapes and gently popped them into the barely bubbling tomato sauce. Twenty minutes after the sauce had started to simmer again and a gentle poach they were ready to eat. I added some salt to the sauce and dinner was good to go. So easy.

I'll be throwing the leftover meatballs (there are loads) in the grill today to crisp them up a bit before putting them between layers of grilled eggplant and the tomato sauce. That's supper sorted.