The perfect ragu bologneseNow this is slow-cooking at its best. No-one knows what a true bolognese sauce is but one thing's clear; its origins come from the italian town of Bologna and the meat sauce there is called a ragu.
And this ragu can be used as the base for many things The tastiest ragu is made by slowly cooking the finely chopped vegetales in olive oil before adding onions and then your favourite minced meat selection. I go for 2/3 beef to 1/3 pork; my friends in Belgium use 50/50 ground veal and pork; Paul in London just uses beef while Karim uses lamb! The Recipe is time consuming so make industrial quantities and prepare your freezer bags.
Chili con Carne
|
Remember: after making this once, you can vary the taste as you like it. Some people add a small spoonful of sugar to sweeten the sauce and some already add a little chile at this early stage.
The Ingredients
Chili con Carne
Taking half of the above quantity, add 1 espresso cup of coffee and two squares of 85% chocolate to start building the vintage Mexican taste. Then add chopped Chipotle peppers (dried, smoked jalapeños), although dried chile powder will be fine too. Simmer for a further hour. Then add one or two cans of red beans depending on how far you want to stretch the meal(and how many carbs you want to add), before warming through. It tastes fantastic and authentic either way, but remember that two cans will boost the carb levels. Though rich in fibre, they add up to 20 grams of carbs per 100 grams. Just before serving, sprinkle with chopped coriander. Now some would dispute whether tomatoes belong in a real Chili con Carne; some would insist on pure beef, but I invite you to taste this one. You'll love it. |