Drunken Slow Cooked Bolognese

This bolognese is pretty fucking epic and one of my favourite things to cook.

Nothing makes me happier than having a fridge full of prepped food! Making the food also makes me as equally happy. My favourite dish to prepare is slow cooked bolognese.

I have a big casserole dish (definitely worth the investment) which I brown everything in first, then let in simmer away in the oven for 8-10hrs. You need wine for this recipe, so of course naturally you end up drinking the wine as you cook. Sometimes you end up completely tanked when you serve it up, as you started drinking at 10 in the morning, when you first opened the wine… If this doesn’t happen to you, then you should give it a go! Heaps of fun….

So here is my drunken slow cooked bolognese recipe.

Capsicum – 2 roasted (wrap in foil and roasted in the oven)
Tomatoes on the vine – 12 cut in half and roasted with the capsicum Garlic – leave skin on and put around the tomatoes. Up to how many (I use about 5) Mince- about a kilo (season with salt and pepper) Onions – 2 large onions Tomato Paste – 1 Tablespoon Wine – Again up to you (I use about a quarter of a bottle, any varietal) Beef Stock – small tablespoon or 2 cups if fresh Milk – 2 cups (don’t judge this, this is seriously fucking amazing and will change your Bolognese, I promise) I use fresh herbs: you can use dried but the taste is night and day!  Bay Leaves – 4 fresh Oregano – 8 sprigs Basil – I love basil so I use about 12 leaves

Method:

1. Chuck 2 capsicums in the oven wrapped in foil. Cut your tomatoes in half leaving the vine on and then sprinkle your garlic around the tomatoes. Drizzle in olive oil. Cook at 180 degrees for about 30mins. Just check them, they should be deflated when you take them out then reduce your oven to 100 degrees Celsius, leave to cool.
2. Put the onion and a large lug of oil in a large oven safe casserole dish (or anything big and oven safe) and fry over a medium to high heat for 3-4 mins. Push the mince and delicious browned onion to the side and wallop in your tomato paste, leave that cooking for 2 minutes, it makes the tomato paste sweeten.
3. Discard the vines of the tomatoes and skins of the garlic. Put them in your food processor bowl, when your capsicums have cooled, take out the guts and seeds, chop up and pop into the same bowl and mix together to a sauce.
4. Now is your time to shine, stir in the tomato sauce, beef stock and wine. Pour yourself a glass of wine while you do this (if you haven’t already). Then wack it all in the oven with the lid on. When everything is bubbling then the day if yours again, well kind of.
5. Check your bolognese everway and your capsicums have cooled, take out the guts and seeds, chop up and pop into the poty hour or so and give it a stir. I sometimes add more wine to the bolognese, or beef stock for taste.
6. When you have an  hour to go, add your milk. The milk makes the bolognese thick and adds a whole other dimension to the meal. Add her a half an hour before you’re ready to serve. When you are happy with the consistency serve with wine, parmesan and pasta.
7. I normally make my own pasta during this time but sometimes I just sit on the couch, watch TV Shows and drink, so the attached photo is off some shitty cheap wheat packet rigatoni, which tasted amazing!