Cooking With Shiraz - Bolognese Sauce

We have mentioned this meaty, potpourri-of-flavours Bolognese sauce a few times on the Just Wines blog and that it only made sense to share its recipe with our valued readers! The bold flavours of Shiraz wine bring out the richness in a slow-cooked Bolognese like no other varietal. 

INGREDIENTS

• 15ml/ 1 tbsp olive oil
• 30g/ 1oz butter
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into small dices
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 5ml/ 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 450g/ 1 lb minced beef
• 1 x 400g/ 14oz can chopped Italian plum tomatoes
• 30ml/ 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 10ml/ 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 5ml/ 1 tsp dried oregano
• 250ml/ ½ pint/ 1 cup beef stock, hot
• 120 ml/ 8 tbsp/ ½ cup Shiraz
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve

METHOD

1. Pour the olive oil and place the butter in a large saucepan. Allow the butter to gently melt over low heat. Ensure that you start in a cold pan, or the butter may instantly burn. (Butter has a low ‘smoking point’, unlike oil.)
2. Tip in the bay leaves, followed by chopped onion, carrot and celery. A lot of pasta sauces begin with this sautéed mix of veggies, called soffrito. Continue the cooking on low heat, for about 4 minutes, or the onion is lightly golden.
3. Stir in the mixed herbs.
4. Increase the heat to high, throw in the minced beef and spread it into an even layer with a spatula. Brown the meat. This is where using a large saucepan comes handy - a smaller pan would have meant a lesser surface area, and hence much of the ground beef would have ‘braised’, instead of getting ‘fried’. You can also add it in two batches - brown the first batch, remove it onto a plate, brown the next, and then mix the two.
5. Once the side of the meat touching the pan has browned, stir, and brown it all over. Thoroughly break up any lumps in the meat with a spatula.
6. Now, pour in the canned tomatoes, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, beef stock & red wine. Season with salt and pepper. If you are using stock made from stock cubes, remember, it has salt too. So did the butter and Worcestershire sauce. Also take note that the liquid in the pan will greatly reduce. Hence, season accordingly.
7. Once the liquid in the pan comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. The wine needs to be reduced for it to give all its complex flavours! It is this slow and prolonged cooking that will result in all the aromas & flavours coming together.
8. Once the liquid has mostly dried up, check the sauce for seasoning. Adjust, if required. If you are serving it unbaked, I find adding boiled pasta, and cooking it in the sauce for the last minute results in a much more tastier dish! The pasta absorbs some of the flavour from the sauce this way. Don’t forget sprinkling some Parmesan cheese on top!

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