What can I add to it for extra flavour? I like it to be a little spicy.

In mine I put:

Mushrooms
Peppers
onion
garlic
chilli's
tomatoes
tomato purée
mixed herbs
bacon
mince
salt
pepper
paprika

Tis damn lovely!

I've highlighted the parts in bold that I must try. It sounds lovely indeed.

I add a Birds Eye dried chili pod.....gives it an extra kick. Remember to wash your hands after crumbling it in....they're lethal.

Heston's Blumental's recipe is a bit different it has fish sauce and star anise. It also takes 12 hours if you follow it to the ltter apparently. This guy tried it, it makes interesting reading.


Found another simpler recipe from 2003......before he was on telly. It's a much simpler recipe too.

Make sure you mix the sauce in with the pasta, so many people just plonk it on top.

Thanks, what is Star Anise however?


That is what my mum did once...

Thanks. I don't think I'd want to go to the toilet and touch anything I shouldn't without washing my hands first.

Exatly! commonsense really but people follow tradition and my mum piled it on the pasta.

My favourite thing to add the Spag Bol is tomato ketchup and chilli powder although not too much of either I also prefer tagliatelle to spaghetti.

Red wine really adds to it but as I don't drink, it's rarely in the house. i must mention that no mushroom will ever go near my Spaghetti bolognese, eurgggh! lol.

Chocolate,vodka and chilli.

I add Worcester Sauce to mine.

I've also started making it with pork mince instead of beef mince to lower the fat content.

I'm really cheap so I never buy the lean mince, instead I brown off the fatty cheap stuff and sieve the hell out of it before putting it into the sauce

It really works & you'll not see any fat on top of my spag bol.

I like the traditional recipe with celery, carrots, wine, onions, tomatoes cooked on low heat for a few hours.

Finely chopped liver makes it really flavoursome

I am amazed how many people make bolognese without red wine - surely that is one of the key ingredients? I find bolognese works best with just a few ingredients - good quality canned tomatoes, mince, onion, basic, mushrooms, red pepper, red wine, pepper, garlic, a little chilli sauce, a touch of worcester sauce, fresh basil

I alway think if you make it spicy, you might as well make a chilli con carne.

Personally I keep mine simple. Tomato, Onion, mushrooms, garlic, Olive oil, Basil/Oragano and Red Wine. Oh and beef mince of course

I'll probably add a stock cube and a dash of Lea n Perrins as well maybe.

It's a kind of spice, so called because it is shaped like a star and tastes kind of aniseedy.

For the authentic Italian savoury flavour, fry some very finely diced carrot, celery and onion, before adding the meat, then a splash of white wine with the tomato, herbs and seasoning. Reduce heat and cook slowly on low for an extra delicious traditional bolognese/ragu sauce.

Sounds odd but adding a small bar of bitter dark chocolate really works!!!

You're going for background heat or warmth rather than spicyness, or at least I am.

I've tried experimenting with trying out sea food sauce with lots of different meals, and have quite often found that sea food sauce goes great with much, much more than just sea food, so why not try mixing some sea food sauce with spaghetti bolognaise?

I know some people here might consider that gross, but hey, you don't know if you truly like something until you have actually tried it!

Chicken Livers for a bolognese afaik.

The sainted Delia seems to think so

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/c...bolognese.html

I agree, I use chicken livers.

As I've said on DS before ...

3 or 4 chopped anchovy fillets.

No! They don't make it taste "fishy", just gives a deep savoury flavour.

I add a little anchovy sauce:

http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/i...ge/SGN3620.jpg
...which is good in any savoury dish.

Some nutmeg always good as well.

Whatever you do, be sure to cook it slowly and for a long time.... the flavours will intensify and meld together beautifully.