Cooking for the family can be… uninspiring. As much as we’d all like to be raising kids who eat a wide and varied diet, there are times when even the most adventurous cooks take the easy path and make meals that everyone will eat, even if they aren’t exactly what you’d choose to eat if left to your own devices. Spaghetti bolognaise is one of those meals for me. I don’t love it, but it’s one of those dinners that raises some of the fewest complaints so I grudgingly make it on a regular basis.
It occurred to me that there had to be a way to make it more palatable, without losing the kid-friendliness. I tried a few different ways of making it and let my family be the guinea pigs.
First of all, I made it the way I usually did, with pre-made tomato based pasta sauces. Pasta sauce is something that I long ago put in the category of mayonnaise – something I can and have made myself but decided is not worth the effort, given the good quality store bought examples that you can find almost anywhere.
The Sauces:
I purchased Don Antonio’s from the supermarket (Woolworths), Chef Luca Ciano from the green grocer (Harris Farm) and Stefano’s from a high end gourmet shop (Accoutrement in Mosman). I tasted them individually with nothing else added so it would be easier to judge them. I then lined up the family and got them to blind taste test all three.
Supermarket – Don Antonio (Italy)
This is my go-to supermarket pasta sauce. I’ve tried most of the available ones before, as I do use the excuse of something being on special to buy a new product. Don Antonio has a fresh tomato flavour, with some larger chunks of tomato through it. It is more acidic than the other sauces and lightly runnier. It has visible herbs and is the brightest red of the three sauces. Overall, it’s a very nice sauce and works well, but lacks the “wow” factor. At $6 though, it has the advantage of price on it’s side and is a genuinely good product in that price range.
Harris Farm – Chef Luca Ciano (Marrickville NSW)
This sauce is my favourite from Harris Farm, much better than the other premium brand they sell, Simon Johnson. It also has a good fresh tomato flavour, with less chunks than the Don Antonio. It has a smoother, sweeter, less acidic flavour than Don Antonio, with lots of visible herbs and a slightly darker colour. This one is my favourite of all the pre-made sauces I’ve purchased in recent years and has that “moreish” element to it, where you want to keep eating it. At $12 a jar, it’s getting into the pricey range, but well worth it.
High End – Stefano’s
Given this was the most expensive jar at $17, I dreaded the thought that I would love this and pine for ever after. But I didn’t. It was my least favourite of the three, as a pasta sauce. It would make a good pizza sauce though, so I plan on testing that out in the next seven days before it goes to waste.
This sauce is smooth, not far off the consistency of tomato paste. It was dark in colour and tasted quite caramelised, somewhat reminiscent of sun dried tomatoes. It had no visible herbs and there was a layer of oil on the top when the jar was opened. To be honest, I don’t think I’d buy this sauce again.
The Blind Taste Test
Three out of four of us picked the Chef Luca Ciano. The only dissenting vote was for the Don Antonio. Not so surprisingly, no one picked the most expensive jar, Stefano’s.
I made the Chef Luca Ciano into a bolognaise and it was quite delicious, and I wouldn’t dread bolognaise so much if I made it with this sauce. It’s still not my favourite meal, but it was more than bearable.
Can I make it better myself?
The next question was whether it was better than something I could make from scratch. I hadn’t made a bolognaise from the basics in a really long time, so I didn’t already have a recipe in mind. A quick search of the internet should have been all I needed. But in the way of these things, there are literally billions of recipes to choose from. Further research ensured. Turns out authentic Italian bolognaise sauce is heritage listed! And contains milk!! How on earth had I made it to my forties, calling myself a well-travelled cook, without knowing this?
It was with some trepidation that I embarked on this recipe. No sooner had I got my head around the milk thing than I nearly fainted at the instruction that I wasn’t allowed to add any herbs or even a bay leaf! I was positive that it would turn out bland and possibly the worst bolognaise I’d ever had to suffer through. To say I was wrong was an understatement. It was absolutely delicious.
Traditional Bolognaise – recipe here. Check out the Food Nouveau website if you have a chance, there are some great recipes there.
The conclusion I’ve now reached is that it is definitely worth making the homemade bolognaise. It was well received by the kids and even I enjoyed it. It wasn’t particularly hard and the ingredients were cheap and easy to get. The only thing is that it takes time, but most of that is just letting it bubble away, so it’s not overly onerous.
The lovely premade pasta sauce, I think, would be better served on potato gnocchi or a good packet of pre-made ravioli where it could shine, without being swamped by the flavour of the minced meat. Plus that’s a really quick meal and a good excuse to have an easy night in the kitchen!
So I tested my theory and made a wholemeal potato gnocchi last night. I thought the wholemeal version would be a bit of an ask with the kids, but we’re on a health kick, so I gave it a go and hoped for the best. Luckily, it was absolutely delicious with the Chef Luca Ciano’s, fresh basil and parmesan. No complaints either and clean bowls all round!
The Curated Condiment 