Barny doesn’t cook, its suits me this way for obvious reasons. The few times he has cooked its been a success, which is probably why I don’t encourage him to do it more. Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the shop I wrote out some very detailed instructions for him on how to get the Bolognese started so that it has had long enough to bubble away before dinner last night. When I got home I was greeted with the best version of bolognese I’ve ever had. Not only was it intensely savory, the colour of it was treacle burgundy and although it carried the tang of a tomato based sauce, it did not really resemble anything I’ve had before. It probably wasn't very Italian. While we inhaled it we dissected the main points that attributed to it being so awesome.
1. Soffritto Anise - As usual we slowly softened the onion, carrot and celery in a pan. But this time, a-la-Blumenthal we crushed a little corner of Star Anise and added this and the other herbs, bay & oregano to it. For some reason fried onions and Star Anise takes meat to another level. Only the tiniest bit though.
2. Dried woodland mushrooms - After rehydrating the mushrooms in a mug of boiled water, the water was reserved. This dark and smoky mushroom water was added to the meat, soffritto, tinned toms and red wine. So 50% mushroom water and wine, 50% tomatoes.
3. Almost burnt meat - The mince was cooked in a separate very hot pan before it got added to the soffritto and I told Barn to let it really colour by not moving it so that the meat caramelised, he let it do that nearly to the point of too much, but it gave it a really good flavour.
4. At least 3 hours - It needs to cook for aaaages. As soon as it starts to look dry pop a glass of water in it. Oh check seasoning every hour.
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