Mary Berry has shared her secret ingredient for the perfect spaghetti bolognese – and it’s not one you’d typically expect to find in the sauce. The TV chef’s tip will make the meat super tender
Mary Berry has spilled the beans on her stunning spaghetti bolognese recipe – and it’s sure hit in British kitchens. The national treasure and cooking icon recently unveiled how to make your bolognese stand out from the crowd with a simple yet transformative kitchen staple – double cream.
In an eye-opening BBC segment, Mary Berry walked viewers through her scrumptious recipe, highlighting her secret twist: double cream for that opulent texture. Mary elaborated: “Nothing beats a hearty supper when you’ve worked up an appetite, and this recipe is my delicious version of one of our nation’s go-to dishes. We Brits cook bolognese more than any other meat recipe, so here is how it goes.”
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Designed to serve six people, the preparation time for this dish is under 30 minutes. Yet, to achieve the perfect softness and tenderness of the meat, a cooking duration of two hours is essential.
If you’re curious about the double cream, culinary maestro Mary Berry advises adding it during the last hour of simmering.
She insists on a particular technique for blending it seamlessly into the sauce.
Ingredients
- 500g of pork mince
- 500g of beef mince
- 500g of passata
- 400g of chopped tomatoes
- 200ml of beef stock
- 150ml of wine
- Two chopped onions
- Two sticks of chopped celery
- One large chopped carrot
- Three crushed garlic cloves
- Three tablespoons of sundried tomato paste
- Four tablespoons of double cream
- Two tablespoons of chopped thyme leaves
- Four bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to serve
- 450g of pappadelle pasta
- Salt for the pasta water
- Parmesan cheese
- Basil leaves to serve
Method
Tie on your apron, set the oven to 160C, grab a decent pot, and give your carrots, celery, and onions a five-minute sizzle after a splash of oil – get them lovely and soft before the real cooking begins, reports the Express.
Start by frying the pork and beef mince in a high heat pot until it turns brown. Once done, separate the meat, add crushed garlic and let it fry for about 30 seconds before adding the tomato paste to the bolognese sauce.
After mixing everything together, pour in the beef stock, chopped tomatoes and passata sauce. Continue stirring the bolognese sauce and let it simmer.
Next, add the wine, herbs, salt and pepper. Transfer the bolognese to the oven. After an hour, add the double cream.
Put the dish back in the oven for another hour without the lid. The meat should be fork-tender when it’s ready.
When the bolognese sauce is almost done, boil some salted water in a pot to cook the pasta. Drain the pasta once it’s cooked, then set it aside.
