====== Heston Blumenthals Perfect Spaghetti Bolognese ======

===== Ingredients =====

==== For the Sauce Base ====

  * 1 Star Anise
  * 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
  * 2 Large Onions (about 450 g) finely sliced
  * 2 Large Cloves of Garlic
  * Another 2 Large Onions to be included in the Soffrito
  * 3 Large Carrots (about 400 g) finely diced
  * 3 Celery Stalks (about 125 g) finely diced.
  * 250 g Pork Shoulder
  * 250 g Beef Chuck, boned and minced
  * 375 ml Oaked Chardonnay
  * 250 ml of whole milk

==== For the Tomato Compote ====

  * 1.1 kg of Vine Ripened Tomatoes OR 500 ml canned tomato sauce
  * 1 tsp table salt
  * 3 Large Cloves of Garlic
  * 1 Large Onion (about 225g) finely diced
  * 1 heaped tsp Coriander Seeds
  * 1 Star Anise
  * 3 Cloves
  * 4-5 Drops Tabasco
  * 4-5 Drops Thai Fish Sauce
  * 2 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
  * 1 heaped tbsp Tomato Ketchup (I know but it works)
  * 30 ml Sherry Vinegar
  * 1 Bouquet garni (7 sprigs of Thyme and 1 fresh Bay Leaf)

==== For the finished Spaghetti Bolognese ====

  * Reserved Tomato Compote
  * 100 g good-quality Spaghetti per person
  * Sherry Vinegar to taste
  * Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano)
  * 1 Bouquet Garni (in a sheet of leek, wrap 6 Tarragon Leaves, 4 sprigs of parsley and the leaves from the top of a bunch of celery)
  * Unsalted butter
  * Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  * Table Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

===== Instructions =====

==== Preparing the Sauce Base ====

  - Place a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat for 5 mins. Crush the Star Anise & bag it up in a square of muslin. 
  - Add this to the pan, along with 25 ml oil & the sliced onions. 
  - Cook for 20 mins, or until the onions are soft & caramelized, stirring occasionally. 
  - Set aside.
  - At the same time preheat another large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over a a low heat for 5 minutes.
  - Mince the garlic. 
  - Pour 50 ml of oil into the pan, then tip in the garlic, onions, carrots & celery & cook this soffritto over a medium-low heat for about 20 min, or until the raw onion smell has gone. 
  - Transfer the soffritto to a bowl and wipe clean the pan.
  - Place the pan over a high heat for 10 mins. Pour 50 ml olive oil & wait until it starts smoking: it must be hot enough so the meat browns rather than stews. 
  - Add the cubed pork and the minced oxtail. 
  - Do this in multiple batches to ensure the meat is getting properly browned. Deglaze the pan with a slug of white wine between batches reducing it a little. Transfer the meat into a larger pot.
  - Remove the Star Anise from the caramelized onions, then tip them into the pot containing the meat. 
  - Add the remaining wine to the onion pan to deglaze it. Reduce the wine by half & pour it into the pot with the meat. 
  - Add the soffritto.
  - With the meat pot over a very low heat, pour in the milk and enough water to cover the mix and simmer very gently without a lid for 6hrs, stirring occasionally. Make sure the mix stays covered with liquid, adding water as necessary. The milk will go chunky but it doesn’t effect the final product.


==== Preparing the Tomato Compote ====
 
  - Tomatoes sliced in half seasoned with salt and pepper and a little oregano with a Spanish Onion, a couple of cloves of garlic & a red capsicum, partially dried in an oven at 150 Degrees C for first 20 mins and 120 Degrees C for a further 30 mins, then passed through a sieve. 
  - Crush Corriander, Star Anise and cloves, place in a muslin bag and this to a pot with the sauced tomatoes.
  - Add the Tabasco, Fish Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Tomato Ketchup and Sherry Vinegar. 
  - Drop in the Bouquet Garni and cook over a low heat for 2 hours.

==== Cooking the Spaghetti Bolognese ====

  - Add the tomato compote to the pot with the meat sauce in it & simmer over a very low heat for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  - Before taking the Bolognese sauce off the heat, check the seasoning & add some sherry vinegar (tasting as you go) to balance the richness of the sauce. 
  - Add a generous grating of Parmesan (taking care not to add too much as it can make the sauce overly salty & remove the sauce from the heat. 
  - Remove the original Bouquet Garni and muslin bag of spices. 
  - Add the Tarragon Bouquet Garni
  - Stir in 100 g of unsalted butter & let it stand for 5 minutes. This last step adds richness with the butter & gives the sauce a fresh lift from the Tarragon Bouquet Garni.


==== Prepare the Pasta ====

  - 100 g of pasta per person in boiling salted water.
  - Strain the pasta return to the pot & add sufficient sauce, giving it a toss through over the heat & then serve.