I love weekends. I like that I get to relax and cook to my heart's content. It makes me forget how stressful the week that was and try to arm myself with the stress of the week to come.
Today was a bit cool compared to the sweltering 35C degree heat in the city yesterday. I'm glad that it cooled down. This morning was very gloomy but it didn't feel like rain. Oh, Melbourne! How inconsistent you are! But that's also why I love this city.
But back to my ultimate comfort food. For some reason, I felt that my stress has overflown from Friday to Saturday. I was out with a few friends yesterday and I didn't really feel up for it. I was tired and worn down. Simply put, I needed time to myself.
Last night, I dreamed that I was eating a hearty bowl of pasta and it made me really really happy. The taste of the rich, aromatic and heady blend of tomatoes and herbs, the meaty and tender bits of minced beef and pork and then the silky, starchy and firm ribbons of pasta - all mixed up together in a bowl topped with that sharp, salty parmesan cheese. I woke up from this dream and it was 7:38AM. Yea, I didn't get a full night's sleep either. But damn, I wanted to make some spaghetti bolognese today.
Are you ready for some now?
My version is extremely simple and I'm pretty sure I can make this with my eyes closed. It saved me so many times from gloomy sad meaningless days and nights.
Ingredients:
Olive oil
500g minced beef and pork
1 medium brown onion, chopped as finely as you can
1/4 cup brandy
2 tbsps caramelised balsamic vinegar (you can definitely use ordinary balsamic vinegar just add 1 tbsp of brown sugar)
2 tsps minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano or more if you like
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of passata
1/2 cup water (wine or chicken stock)
500g fresh pasta (I used a lemon and parsley flavored one)
Steps:
In a saucepan or dutch oven on medium high heat, heat up the olive oil and brown the mince. The mince will release its juices, don't worry about this and just stir until all the moisture disappears. Add the onion and add some salt to sweat it out with the beef.
Once the mixture is dry and almost frying, add the brandy and start scrapping the fronds underneath the pan. The alcohol will evaporate some in 1-2 minutes. Don't forget to stir. Then add the vinegar and stir until the mixture is dry but don't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic, all the dried herbs and the pepper. Stir to combine. After 1 minute and the dried herbs started to release their scent, pour the passata and the water. Bring this to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium and keep the lid on for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, salt the sauce to taste.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Try to estimate the ratio of sauce to pasta. Pasta of course will try to soak up all the sauce, so make sure that your sauce is not too dry but also not too wet. It's a bit tricky so my suggestion is to add the sauce to the pasta until you think the pasta could not hold the sauce anymore. Save the rest of the sauce for another time.
Today was a bit cool compared to the sweltering 35C degree heat in the city yesterday. I'm glad that it cooled down. This morning was very gloomy but it didn't feel like rain. Oh, Melbourne! How inconsistent you are! But that's also why I love this city.
But back to my ultimate comfort food. For some reason, I felt that my stress has overflown from Friday to Saturday. I was out with a few friends yesterday and I didn't really feel up for it. I was tired and worn down. Simply put, I needed time to myself.
Last night, I dreamed that I was eating a hearty bowl of pasta and it made me really really happy. The taste of the rich, aromatic and heady blend of tomatoes and herbs, the meaty and tender bits of minced beef and pork and then the silky, starchy and firm ribbons of pasta - all mixed up together in a bowl topped with that sharp, salty parmesan cheese. I woke up from this dream and it was 7:38AM. Yea, I didn't get a full night's sleep either. But damn, I wanted to make some spaghetti bolognese today.
Are you ready for some now?
My version is extremely simple and I'm pretty sure I can make this with my eyes closed. It saved me so many times from gloomy sad meaningless days and nights.
Ingredients:Olive oil
500g minced beef and pork
1 medium brown onion, chopped as finely as you can
1/4 cup brandy
2 tbsps caramelised balsamic vinegar (you can definitely use ordinary balsamic vinegar just add 1 tbsp of brown sugar)
2 tsps minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano or more if you like
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of passata
1/2 cup water (wine or chicken stock)
500g fresh pasta (I used a lemon and parsley flavored one)
Steps:
In a saucepan or dutch oven on medium high heat, heat up the olive oil and brown the mince. The mince will release its juices, don't worry about this and just stir until all the moisture disappears. Add the onion and add some salt to sweat it out with the beef.
Once the mixture is dry and almost frying, add the brandy and start scrapping the fronds underneath the pan. The alcohol will evaporate some in 1-2 minutes. Don't forget to stir. Then add the vinegar and stir until the mixture is dry but don't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic, all the dried herbs and the pepper. Stir to combine. After 1 minute and the dried herbs started to release their scent, pour the passata and the water. Bring this to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium and keep the lid on for at least 30 minutes. Before serving, salt the sauce to taste.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta, drain and set aside. Try to estimate the ratio of sauce to pasta. Pasta of course will try to soak up all the sauce, so make sure that your sauce is not too dry but also not too wet. It's a bit tricky so my suggestion is to add the sauce to the pasta until you think the pasta could not hold the sauce anymore. Save the rest of the sauce for another time.
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