Chef’s spaghetti Bolognese recipes: B to K

Emma Knowles, food director, Gourmet Traveller

To add to the great Bolognese debate, this is our food director Emma Knowles’ version (although not our only version). Don’t use finely minced meat – ask your butcher to coarsely mince the meat for you. Or, if you feel so inclined, hand mince it yourself. Toss this sauce through fresh pappardelle or go Aussie and get yourself some good-quality dried spaghetti. Either way, generous amounts of Parmigiano-Reggiano are a must.

James Kidman, Otto, Sydney

Meat: Whole 25kg pig (snout to tail), stripped of all meat, put through a Brice heavy-duty mincer, bones put to one side so they can be used in the cooking. Plus, all the pancetta and prosciutto scraps left over from the kitchen. Cooking medium: Start with olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, celery, leek and garlic. Livers: A little chicken and the kidneys from the pig. Tomato: Tinned, high quality, 6 tins to all the meat. Wine: Red and a little Madeira. Dairy: A little butter when reheating to soften the sauce.

Cooking time: 4 hrs. Pasta: Housemade pappardelle or fettuccine, using Caputo flour. Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? It’s not strictly the classic, but it’s nice. We use pigs from Hugh Wennerbom or Byron Bay. The big secret is putting the bones from the pig in the ragù during the cooking process. Granted, this does not fit into home cooking, but the bones from one shoulder could be used.

Simon Johnson, Simon Johnson, Sydney and Melbourne

Meat: Equal quantities hand-chopped leg of veal or beef and pork, plus pancetta.

Cooking medium: Butter. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic. Herbs: Oregano, parsley, thyme, basil, chilli. Livers: Chicken. Tomato: A lot of fresh tomatoes, paste or good-quality passata with at least 99% tomato content. Stock: Veal or chicken.

Wine: Red. Additives: Worcestershire and pitted black olives. Pasta: Tagliatelle or pappardelle. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol?

Make it the day before.

Philip Johnson, E’cco Bistro, Brisbane

Meat: 80% machine-minced beef shin and 20% pancetta. Cooking medium: Olive oil.

Soffritto: Onion and garlic. Herbs: Oregano and basil. Mushrooms: Fresh. Tomato: Just the right amount of canned and paste. Stock: Beef. Wine: White. Additives: Dash of Worcestershire. Cooking time: 1-2 hours. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? It’s always at its best eaten the day after it’s made – the flavours need time to develop.

Alberto Iacono, Bertoni Casalinga, Sydney

Meat: Machine-minced beef shoulder and leg. Cooking medium: Oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic. Herbs: Oregano, parsley, basil. Tomato: Just the right amount of freshly made passata. Stock: Beef. Cooking time: 1-2 hours. Pasta: Spaghetti.

Cheese: Grana Padano. Extras: Fresh basil and fresh chilli on the side.

Dan Hong, Lotus, Sydney

Meat: Beef brisket or chuck put through the coarse mincer. Cooking medium: Extra-virgin olive oil. Soffritto: Carrot, onion, garlic, celery and a couple of bay leaves.

Tomato: 1 litre of tomato passata and 2 tbsp tomato paste per 1 kg of meat.

Additives: I like to add a few tablespoons of soy sauce, or even better some Maggi seasoning to add that extra savouriness, plus a tablespoon of sugar. Cooking time: 1 hour. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Freshly grated Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Perfectly cooked pasta with meat that still has some texture to it. The Maggi seasoning is my little secret. You know you’ve made a good spag Bol when you want to use it as a jaffle filling the next day. It’s awesome.

Brigitte Hafner, Gertrude Street Enoteca, Melbourne

The best spag Bol I tasted came from around Bologna and Piedmont where they use butter and veal. It’s a gentle sweet sauce, so that’s how I like to cook it.

Meat: Machine-minced, mostly veal shoulder, leg, skirt, chuck or shin. Plus, pancetta or prosciutto. Cooking medium: Butter and extra-virgin olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic. Herbs: Rosemary. Spices: Nutmeg. Tomato: A small amount of canned. Wine: White. Dairy: A little milk at the start before the wine goes in.

Cooking time: About 2-3 hrs. Pasta: Spaghetti or handmade fettuccine or pappardelle. Cheese: Parmesan. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Good ingredients, a delicate hand and good timing. The ingredients need to be added just at the right time and at the right heat so that they each sing.

Tobias Gush, Chianti Classico, Adelaide

Meat: Veal and beef shoulder, leg and shin, hand-chopped in chunks. Cooking medium: Butter. Soffritto: Onion and celery. Herbs: Parsley and basil. Tomato: Just the right amount of paste. Stock: Beef or veal. Wine: White. Cooking time: More than 4 hrs. Pasta: Tagliatelle. Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Don’t make it for less than six guests. Use homemade egg pasta. Serve the ragù on the pasta allowing some of the natural oils from the ragù to run into the pasta. Encourage your guests to mix the ragù gently through the pasta as they eat (not all at once) and grate as much Grana on as they want at the table (it’s great to have a chunk of fresh granular Grana sitting on the table with a grater). Don’t let them have spoons (just a fork). Serve with a simple crunchy green salad dressed with lemon and strong extra-virgin olive oil. Drink Ornellaia Le Volte 06. Insist on loud slurping!

Guy Grossi, Grossi Florentino, Melbourne

Here goes and, just so you know, I am passionate about Bolognese. Meat: Large-hole machine-minced pork (500gm), beef leg (2kg) and whole chicken (500gm).

Cured meat: Not in my Bolognese! Cooking medium: Olive oil. Soffritto: Onion and garlic. Herbs: Parsley, bay leaves, rosemary, basil, sage. Spices: Chilli, nutmeg, cloves. Tomato: Just the right amount of Leggo’s tomato paste. Stock: Veal, chicken or water. Wine: Red. Dairy: A tiny knob of butter on execution (optional). Cooking time: 2 hrs. Pasta: Spaghetti, fettuccine, tagliatelle, maccheroni, pappardelle, penne.

Cheese: Parmesan or Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol?

Fry the onions until sweet and golden. Make sure the meat is properly browned, because that’s where the flavour comes from. Cook it slowly so it reduces and has time for all the flavours to develop. We serve about 130 litres per week in our cellar bar.

Peter Gilmore, Quay, Sydney

Meat: Hand-chopped pork belly (30%), leg of veal (60%), speck (5%) and pancetta (5%). Cooking medium: Olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, celery, garlic. Herbs: Bay leaves and rosemary. Mushrooms: Fresh and diced field mushrooms. Tomato: A combination of fresh, canned and paste (not too much and not too little). Stock: Chicken. Wine: Red. Cooking time: 4 hours. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Long and slow cooking and a good concentration of flavours.

Todd Garratt and James Hird, Buzo, Sydney

Meat: 2kg coarse machine-minced pork or veal shoulder with 100gm minced pancetta. Cooking medium: Olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic. Tomato: A bit of paste (150gm per 2kg of mince). Wine: Dry white wine. Dairy: Milk.

Additives: A little fresh thyme. Cooking time: 1½-2 hrs. Pasta: Lasagne alla Bolognese al forno is the best way to eat this. If pushed, we’ll have it with tagliatelle.

Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano and besciamella. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Every restaurant in Bologna serves it slightly differently. Between aunts, nonne and chefs, there could be a cookbook of recipes. If we make this ragù at Buzo, we opt for a recipe quite similar to the great Ada Boni with adjustments made through trips to Bologna and our staff dinners. The key to success is to execute every step perfectly. Remember: Paul Newman was a great actor, but he doesn’t belong in a ragù.

Lucio Galletto, Lucio’s, Sydney

Meat: Machine-minced pork and veal, but mainly beef, shoulder or chuck. Also pancetta. Cooking medium: Butter and oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, cloves.

Mushrooms: Dried. Livers: Chicken. Tomato: A little paste. Stock: Beef. Dairy: Milk.

Cooking time: 1-2 hours. Pasta: Fettuccine, tagliatelle, maccheroni, pappardelle.

Cheese: Parmesan – not for the sauce, only to sprinkle on top. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Slow cooking.

Colin Fassnidge, Four in Hand, Sydney

Spag Bol, the Irish way (handed down over the years from the sun-drenched hills of Dublin) as follows. Meat: Minced beef shin, smoked back bacon or pancetta (like the bass player in a band, it’s there, but not up front, somewhere in the back – a light undertone of smokiness). Cooking medium: Normal cooking oil; none of this extra-virgin olive oil lark. It’s hard enough trying to pay the rent without throwing good extra-virgin olive oil out. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, bay, marjoram.

Tomato: Tinned tomatoes, some paste. I like to add a lot of tomato and cook slowly. The sauce reduces and concentrates and then coats the pasta. Wine: Splash of red at the start of cooking. Additives: Worcestershire at the end to give the sauce a lift.

Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Small amount of Grana Padano. We use the rind of in the sauce. This imparts a mellow cheese flavour over the 2 hrs of cooking.

Pete Evans, Hugos, Sydney

My mum makes the best spaghetti Bolognese in the world – enough said. Love you Mum!

Peter Doyle, Est, Sydney

Meat: Machine-minced pork and veal leg with some prosciutto. Cooking medium: Oil.

Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery. Tomato: Canned. Between a little and a lot. Cooking time: 2-4 hours. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? The secret is to keep it simple, using only the ingredients stated above. Use a good cooking technique, carefully stirring and watching over the pot – it does not look after itself.

Greg Doyle, Pier, Sydney

Meat: Machine-minced beef or veal (or a mix of the two), shoulder or skirt, and pancetta at 4 parts beef or veal to 1 part pancetta. Cooking medium: Oil.

Soffritto: Onion and celery. Tomato: Just the right amount of fresh or good-quality canned and paste as well. Stock: Veal or dark chicken. Wine: White wine. Additives: Pepper, salt and a pinch of Tabasco. Cooking time: At least 1 hr. Pasta: Spaghetti.

Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Al dente pasta and a good flavoured sauce.

Sean Connolly, Astral, Sydney

Meat: Chunky veal shank, beef chuck, diced lamb leg and smoked pork belly. An even split of meats, with cured meat making up 20% of the complete meat component. Cooking medium: Olive oil. Tomato: Lots of homemade tomato sauce, plus roughly chopped onion, basil and garlic. Cooking time: 3-4 hrs. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Slow cooking. It mustn’t be too wet; it’s important that the sauce sticks to the spaghetti.

Javier Codina, Gianni, Brisbane

Meat: 25% pork and 75% beef (shoulder and leg) machine-minced. Plus, a bit of Iberian pork (pancetta or jamon). Cooking medium: Straight olive oil, of course – I’m Spanish! Soffritto: Diced celery, white onion, carrot, whole garlic (skin on). Herbs and spices: Thyme, bay leaf, peppercorn, basil at the end to infuse. Mushrooms: Always fresh. Tomato: Just enough fresh tomatoes (very, very, very ripe, really soft ones) to bind. Stock: Maybe a bit of chicken stock, but not crucial. Wine: Red. Cooking time: 2-4 hours. Pasta: With all my respects to our neighbours the Italians, in Spain we like it better with penne. Cheese: For a Hispanic twist, add some aged manchego.

Andrew Clarke, Rock Restaurant, Hunter Valley

Meat: Machine-minced beef rump, plus pancetta. Cooking medium: Oil and rendered pancetta fat. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery. Spices: Nutmeg. Mushrooms: Fresh or dried. Livers: Chicken. Tomato: A little paste. Stock: Light veal. Wine: Red. Dairy: Milk or cream. Cooking time: 1-2 hours. Pasta: Handmade tagliatelle. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Make it the day before to allow all the flavours to come together.

Andrew Cibej, Vini, Sydney

Meat: Pork neck and veal chuck or just beef (sirloin trimmings), machine-minced in a Robot Coupe, plus prosciutto. Cooking medium: Olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery. Herbs and spices: A few bay leaves, rosemary and thyme, a pinch of nutmeg and lots of black pepper. Tomato: Fresh tomato sauce, about 50:50 to meat volume.

Stock: Chicken, if necessary. Wine: Red. Additives: Herbs. Cooking time: 3-4 hours.

Pasta: Any long pasta and sometimes orecchiette if, for example, adding olives or chicory. Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Time. Also a good amount of well cooked soffritto. Sautéing meat before cooking out in the pot and just the right amount of tomato.

Salvatore Caccioppoli, Svago, Melbourne

Meat: Machine-minced beef skirt and pancetta. Cooking medium: Olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery. Herbs: Bay leaves. Mushrooms: Dried porcini. Tomato: 1 tbsp tomato paste and 300gm purée (or passata, if in season). Stock: Beef. Wine: Sangiovese. Cooking time: 1½ hrs. Pasta: Tagliatelle. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Always use fresh egg pasta.

Andy Bunn, Café Sopra, Sydney

Meat: Machine-minced veal shoulder and pancetta or prosciutto. Cooking medium: Butter and oil. Soffritto: Onion, garlic, dried chilli flakes, fresh mint. Tomato: A good amount of fresh sauce. Dairy: Cream. Cooking time: More than 4 hrs. Pasta: Fettuccine, tagliatelle, maccheroni, pappardelle. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano.

What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Very long and slow cooking, a good tomato sauce and cream.

Guillaume Brahimi, Guillaume at Bennelong, Sydney; Bistro Guillaume, Melbourne

Meat: 10 parts machine-minced beef chuck to 1 part bacon. Cooking medium: Oil.

Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Mushrooms: Fresh. Livers: Chicken. Tomato: A lot of fresh tomatoes. Stock: Veal. Wine: Red. Cooking time: 1-2 hours. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Parmesan. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol?

When I cook spaghetti Bolognese (albeit quite infrequently) I transform from Guillaume to Giuseppe. I leave my Gallic roots behind and happily embrace the Italian way. I start by putting on some Puccini, opening a bottle of il vino rosso, preferably a good Tuscan one, and then get to work. Before long, the house is filled with such delicious aromas, it would surely bring a tear to mama’s eye, and the bottle of Tuscan red is nearly empty. Hence why I only cook it occasionally.

Meyjitte Boughenout, Absynthe, Gold Coast

Meat: Hand-cut beef rib-eye and speck (about 80/20). Cooking medium: Oil.

Soffritto: Onion, garlic, carrot, celery. Herbs: Oregano, bay leaf, thyme. Tomato: A small amount of vine-ripened tomatoes and tomato paste. Wine: Red. Cooking time: Less than an hour. Pasta: Spaghetti. Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? The secret is all about giving flavour to the meat. Lots of people think tomato is the star in this sauce and go for overkill rather than letting the meat add the flavour. It’s important to use the best-quality beef and overripe tomatoes if you can get them.

Martin Boetz, Longrain, Sydney and Melbourne

Meat: Hand-chopped pork shoulder, veal chuck. Cooking medium: Butter, olive oil, rendered pork fat. Soffritto: Onion, garlic, celery, carrot, leek. Herbs: Oregano, thyme, bay leaves, chilli and parsley to finish. Tomato: A lot of fresh and canned.

Stock: Beef. Wine: Red (Chianti). Dairy: If I have time to reduce, 2 cups full cream milk. Additives: If I need to serve fast, I add a good cup of oyster sauce and skip the milk. Cooking time: Less than an hour for staff dinner, 1-2 hours for the authentic Marty version. Pasta: Penne for staff, spaghetti for home. Cheese: Grana Padano for staff, Parmigiano-Reggiano for home. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? I find this preparation therapeutic, I make it most weeks for staff as it gives good nourishment for the 5 hours of service ahead. At home I spend a bit more time on the chop and cook slowly for a rich result that is even better the next day.

Massimo Bianchi, Uccello, Sydney

Let’s clarify that there is no such dish as spaghetti Bolognese in traditional Italian cooking – it’s normally a ragù served with tagliatelle or egg noodles – the traditional dish is tagliatelle alla Bolognese. This is my version. It’s similar to the traditional one with dried porcini mushrooms added. Meat: 80% machine-minced beef (head, tail, chain of the fillet), plus 20% Roman sausages. Cooking medium: Extra-virgin olive oil. Herbs: One bay leaf. Mushrooms: Dried porcini and fresh chanterelle. Tomato: A little bit of canned and peeled San Marzano tomatoes, plus tomato paste. Wine: A little red. Additives: Love. Cooking time: 2 hours. Pasta: Only homemade thick tagliatelle. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano, aged at least 2 years. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Don’t use spaghetti. Keep the pasta very al dente (actually nearly raw) and finish to cook in the sauce. Use only good-quality meat and products.

Mark Best, Marque, Sydney

This recipe is from Elizabeth David’s Italian Food. From memory, it’s a famous Florentine version, garnished with immature eggs from the oviduct of slaughtered birds. Meat: Hand-chopped pork and veal shoulder or leg, sometimes with chicken, and pancetta. Cooking medium: Butter. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, no garlic.

Mushrooms: Dried porcini. Livers: Chicken or duck. Tomato: A few fresh. Stock: Veal or chicken. Wine: White. Additives: Salt, white pepper, nutmeg, mace, one or two bay leaves. Cooking time: 4 hrs. Pasta: Tagliatelle or pappardelle straccio. Cheese: Parmesan. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Cook the best artisan durum wheat pasta you can get your hands on in plenty of salted water (20gm per litre is best), with not too much ragù. Stir in a knob of butter and a handful of parmesan to finish.

Shannon Bennett, Vue de Monde, Melbourne

Meat: Finely minced pork and beef (whatever is available and fresh, preservative-free and lean) with pork belly or pork trotter. Cooking medium: Goose fat. Soffritto: Onion and garlic. Tomato: A large amount of fresh and canned. Wine: White. Additives: Some finely chopped parsley at the end. Cooking time: 2-4 hrs. Pasta: Spaghetti.

Cheese: Grana Padano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Don’t confuse it with a ragù. Keep it really simple!

Martin Benn, Sepia, Sydney

Meat: Machine-minced pork or beef shoulder, chuck or shin. Cooking medium: Lardo and olive oil. Soffritto: Onion, carrot, celery, garlic. Herbs: Oregano, parsley, bay leaves, thyme, basil. Tomato: Just the right amount of fresh, canned, paste, or tomato sauce. Stock: Veal or chicken. Wine: Chardonnay. Dairy: Milk. Additives: Worcestershire, Tabasco or fish sauce. Cooking time: More than 4 hrs if you have the time; the slower, the better. Pasta: Spaghetti, but whatever you prefer. Cheese: Parmigiano-Reggiano. What’s the secret to a good spag Bol? Make sure you use meat that has a good and even distribution of fat and a sauce that is wet to start and then cooked slowly and as long as possible. You want to retain good moisture and a good balance of tomato and piquancy in the sauce and create an even coat over perfectly al dente pasta.