Riverside Recipes: Matt Appleby's Best Bolognese

To celebrate our 25th anniversary at Riverside, we've been asking customers, friends and traders past and present to share some of their favourite market recipes with us; this one comes from Matt Appleby, former Cardiff Farmers Markets stallholder (Roath Brewery) and volunteer director.

He said, “I’ve been cooking this with ingredients from the market for years, and it’s always a winner. It’s a recipe I scribbled down off the TV as Antonio Carluccio went in search of the ‘authentic’ Bolognese sauce. The secret ingredient is plenty of time - it’s a three hour cook, at least - but you can leave it alone mostly and the prep is only half an hour. 

This recipe makes enough to serve about eight people - so we always make a batch on the weekend and portion it up for the freezer. That way you can put a slow-cooked pasta Bolognese on the table mid week in less than 15 mins.”

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

  • 500g beef mince

  • 500g pork mince

  • 100ml white wine or extra dry vermouth

  • 1 tbsp tomato puree

  • 1 jar tomato passata (usually around 700ml)

  • 500ml chicken stock (approx)

  • Salt and black pepper to taste


Step 1 - mince

In a large, deep-sided pan which has a lid, heat the olive oil and fry the two minces until they’re broken up and have a little colour (medium-high heat). Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to do this in a couple of batches so that you can drive off any liquid that comes out of the meat.


Step 2 - onion and garlic

Push the mince to one side, add a little more olive oil and fry the onion for about 10 mins until it's translucent. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or two, then add the tomato puree, stir it through and cook it out for another couple of minutes. If you’re pushed for time and don’t mind the extra washing up, you could do this in a separate pan while the mince is frying and then combine them later.


Step 3 - wine/vermouth

Add the white wine or vermouth. It’s around 100ml, or a small glass. Let this cook out for about five minutes - you’ll notice it starts to smell less ‘boozy’ and reduces down quite quickly. An Italian friend gave me the tip of using extra dry vermouth in place of white wine - it keeps for ages and means you don’t have to open a bottle of wine (or save the end of one) for cooking with. 


Step 4 - tomato and stock

Add the jar of passata - give it a swill out with a little water so there’s none wasted. And then add the stock - I use chicken stock because I always make a batch after we roast a chicken. Beef or vegetable stocks both work fine instead if that’s what you have to hand. Taste and season once the stock is in as you’ll know then how salty it is.


Step 5 - cook

Bring to the boil then put a lid on and simmer very gently for 1 hour. After an hour, remove the lid and give it a good stir. Now, let it continue to simmer with the lid off for another two hours. I’ll set myself a timer after an hour, stir and check, then at 30 minute intervals just to make sure it’s not catching on the bottom. After about two hours the sauce will have reduced to a thick, rich consistency - taste again and season accordingly.

Step 6 - freeze

Once it’s fully cooled, portion it out - roughly about 150g per person - into freezable containers or bags. You can decide if you want to freeze single portions for maximum flexibility or family-sized ones.

Step 7 - serve

If you’re serving right away, just stir it through your favourite pasta. If you’re serving from the freezer midweek, it’ll need to be defrosted first then warmed through. The microwave is fine for this - but for best results, warm the sauce through with a little olive oil in a big saucepan while your pasta is cooking then add the pasta to the sauce, stir together and serve. Or this is a great shortcut for a pasta bake or as the meat sauce for a lasagne.

Some notes:

  • Most of the measurements in the ingredients list are approximate - this is a very forgiving recipe! If the pack of mince is more than 500g or you’ve only got half a glass of wine, it’ll still going to turn out fine.

  • Using beef and veal would be more traditional, but can be harder to find. You could experiment with options like venison, or water buffalo from the market.

  • You can make this vegetarian by replacing the meats with finely minced mushrooms - just fry well to get a good colour on them and cook out any liquid. And use veggie stock.

  • You can reduce the meat content by replacing half with cooked beans or lentils (just add in the last 15 minutes of cooking time to stop them breaking down too much). And add finely diced carrot and celery to the onion to boost the veg content even more.

  • Chicken stock is very easy to make and a good way to avoid waste and get extra meals off a roast chicken - or the market butchers also sometimes sell chicken carcasses for the stock pot.

Jane Cook