Mary Berry's secret method to making a richer and tender bolognese
Bolognese has become a staple in British diets. Rich and meaty, you know that the dish will fill up the family with plenty of leftovers remaining for other nights. While everyone has a go-to recipe, there's always something you can do to spruce it up and make your Bolognese even better.
Everybody's favourite chef and baker Mary Berry once shocked the nation when she admitted to using white wine and double cream in her own Bolognese recipe, but many people have since come out to claim that her recipe actually has some authenticity to it. It can cut through acidity, and richen the flavour. She also slow cooks her sauce in the oven.
For the sauce:
- 500g of pork mince
- 500g of beef mine
- 500g of passata
- 400g of chopped tomatoes
- 200ml of beef stock
- 150ml of wine
- Two chopped onions
- Two sticks of chopped celery
- One large chopped carrot
- Three crushed garlic cloves
- Three tablespoons of sundried tomato paste
- Four tablespoons of double cream
- Two tablespoons of chopped thyme leaves
- Four bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to serve
For the pasta:
- 450g of pappadelle pasta
- Salt for the pasta water
- To serve:
- Paraman cheese
- Basil leaves to garnish
Kitchen equipment:
- Oven-proof large pot with lid
- Pot for the pasta
- Two spatulas
According to The Express, Berry starts her recipe by preheating the oven to 160C gas or 140C fan. Then, in a pot on the hob, heat the oil in a large pot add your chopped-up carrots, celery and onions - also known as a sofrito, and let them fry on high heat for around five minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.
Once the sofrito has softened, add both your pork and beef mince to the pot. "Having the two meats means you get a wonderful deep flavour, and it's what the Italians do", the former Bake Off judge explained. Fry your meat until browned, keeping the pot on a high heat.
As the meat can often stick together and to the bottom of the pan, Mary recommended using two spatulas to mix the Bolognese ingredients together. Then add in crushed garlic and let it fry for around 30 seconds. Afterwards, add the tomato paste and stir it into the sauce.
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Once fully mixed together, it's time to add the beef stock, chopped tomatoes and passata. Continue to give the Bolognese sauce a good stir and let it simmer. After it's been left to cook for a while, it is time to mix in your wine, herbs, salt and pepper. Mary suggests using whatever wine you've got a hand of - red or white, although "I really prefer to add white."
Now, it's time to cook your bolognese. Mary's ultimate cooking tip is slowly cooking your bolognese in the oven, hence the suggestion to preheat your oven to a low-to-medium temperature. "Most people cook Bolognese on the hob, but I have a good tip that will make the most tender, deeply flavoured Bolognese that you have ever tasted … It really does bring out the flavour of all the ingredients."
Bake the Bolognese sauce for one hour, and when you take it out of the oven, it's time to add Mary's "secret" ingredient, which is to stir in some double cream. She said: "After an hour in the oven, my secret is to make it even richer by adding in double cream. Don’t worry, it doesn’t curdle or anything like that, it just enriches it. What I want to end up with is a fairly thick mixture."
Once you've added the double cream, put the sauce back in the oven for another hour. It has to be in the oven for a total of two hours. Make sure the lid is not on the Bolognese cooking pot and the meat should become very fork-tender once it comes out of the oven.
Towards the end, as the Bolognese is almost done, fill a pot with boiled salty water to cook your pasta in, cooking until al dente. "The Italian way isn’t to serve robust meat sauce with a skinny pasta like spaghetti. For the perfect pairing, choose a thicker shape like pappardelle [pasta]", Mary says. When it's time to serve, dish up the pasta and Bolognese with a sprinkle of Parmesan and some basil for freshness.
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