Adaptation of Classic Ragù alla Bolognese

Have I ever told you that above all Italian pasta sauce my favorite so far was ragù alla Bolognese? No? Well, I just did.

Based on Indonesian adaptation of pasta sauce, I always prefered alla Bolognese first (followed by Aglio e Olio). And even though the only nearly-original pasta alla Bolognese experience that I had was from local Italian restaurant in Bandung, but the tangy taste kinda caught me in the heart. It has fresh sweet and sour yet meaty flavors that I love, so much. Honestly, I always wandered how the original ragù tasted like. If I were going to take my Master Degree in Milan two years ago, I would probably took a leap and stayed in Bologna until I could make the classic ragù properly. But since I was not, I googled about ragù alla Bolognese instead and found a classic recipe of it.

Evidently the ingredients consist of minced beef, pancetta (Italian bacon), tomato, carrot, celery stalk, milk, stock, tomato paste, red/white wine and olive oil. No herbs added, unlike in the pasta alla Bolognese that I had tasted at the local Italian restaurant (nor in the bottled ready-to-wear Bolognese sauce I used to buy).

Curious that I am, I tried to make it my own this morning. But I had to alter the recipe using information I gathered from the internet because I don't eat pork nor have wine. So, basically, this one is 'pork and alcohol free' version of classic ragù alla Bolognese.

Adaptation of classic ragù alla Bolognese. Pork and alcohol free.

Classic Ragù alla Bolognese
(Adapted from Accademia Italiana della Cucina and GialloZafferano)

Ingredients:

• 100 g carrot
• 100 g celery stalk (use the yellow one if possible)
• 100 g onion
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 600 g minced beef (as substitution for 250 g beef, 250 g pork and 100 g dried pancetta/bacon)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons red/white wine vinegar to taste (diluted in 100 ml of water, as substitution for 250 ml red/white wine)
• 30 g tomato
• 250 ml beef broth
• 250 ml whole milk (boiled until half reduced)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation methods:

1. Finely chop carrot, celery and onion together.
2. Heat the skillet in medium, pour in the olive oil. Melt butter then stir in chopped carrot, celery and onion. Cook for 10 minutes in low heat.
3. Add the minced beef, stir evenly and continue cook until caramelized.
4. Pour in the diluted vinegar and cook until half liquid evaporated. Stir regularly.
5. Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to boil. Take the tomato core out then slice the peel diagonally and vertically. Blanch in the hot boiling water, drain and move to cool water. Remove the peel and seed, then squeeze into chunks. Mix with beef broth.
6. Pour in tomato and broth mixture into the skillet.
7. Simmer for two hours, keep stir regularly and add reduced milk little by little. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Yield 6 serves.

From what I've read, ragù alla Bolognese is essentially a meat-based sauce. So supposedly the beef and the pork can be substitute with other animal flesh used for food. But when I tried to make the chicken version of this ragù for a friend who does not eat beef, it was okay but never as good as the beef one. This make me wandered, again, how great it would be with pork and pancetta. And real wine.. Oh my, this just make me more eager to experience Italy!

Penne alla Bolognese with chicken. (I like the version with herb better. So I served my own pasta alla Bolognese with fresh basil and oregano leaves, plus some red chili and fried garlic topping.)

This post is also linked to Simple Lives Thursday #49.
The food blog event is hosted by five awesome Iowa bloggers, Diana, Annette, Alicia, Wardeh and Mare.

This post is also linked to Presto Pasta Nights #220.

This week's PPN is hosted by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. (Link to the full round up of superb pasta recipes from around the globe will be attached soon.)

GrowinKitchen At Bandung Berkebun

I've always wanted to have a big, beautiful garden, almost similar to the one in Jamie At Home. The idea that I would be able to pick fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables then directly cook them in the kitchen was somehow alluring. But, because I currently share house with a lot of people (plus the owner's family with two toddlers), the dream will have to wait.

Nevertheless, I still want to learn gardening elsewhere. So on the 21st of May, with an invitation from a friend, I joined Bandung Berkebun event 'Tanam Perdana'. The garden is located at a vacant space in the middle of a residential area around Sukamulya Indah, Pasteur. It's only a couple of hundred square meters, but more than enough to plant loads of vegetables.

Front area: junior's plot.

One of the junior gardeners.

My watch pointed at 08.00 AM local time when I arrived there. In the front area, I saw three large bean-shaped plots for local kindergarten pupils and several other junior gardeners to plant green and red amaranth. Meanwhile, in the back, a couple of workers prepare the space into small plots of approximately 45cm by 60cm each. Every four plots are numbered and surrounded with some kind of gutter. There will be planted green and red amaranth seeds too, alongside water spinach, pak coy, red bean, long bean and chayote.

I myself got a small plot number 9D to work on, while the rest of the 9th plots are shared by my new friends Samii, Diah and Ade. Together we planted red amaranth. But before that, we had to clear up weeds, rocks, glass fragments, plastics and any other things that could detain the growth of our vegetables. Now, this is the 'endless' part. The more we dig, the more garbage we found. I barely believe what was beneath our soil, we even found this..

Tazos! (Tazos were popular free toys that we collected from packs of certain snack during early to mid nineties.)

After an hour (or so) trying to get rid whatever garbage in our plots, we gave up. Arbitrarily concluded that a couple of plastic and a handful of rock would do no harm. So we spread the amaranth seeds (and planted red chili that I brought from home, in every corner), watered the plots, then moved to another plots to help planting red bean. Dozens of people were busy digging, seeding and watering (and laughing) that very morning.

Red amaranth seeds.

Somehow this little garden remind me of my mum's. She used to have a little garden in the front of our house when I was still at primary school. There she grown some local herbs and spices, and allowed me to sow watermelon, orange and grape seeds. Sadly, the plants never bear fruit. Some even died earlier because I was too lazy to pull the weeds.

Well, that was old story. I hope our laziness this time won't cost the four of us our red amaranth babies. Because I already have several red amaranth recipe ideas for later. We will continuously visit our garden every Saturday while daily maintenance are scheduled to a local resident. Oh, can't hardly wait to see our sprouts spring..

Fingers crossed.

Bandung Berkebun is a part of a project called Indonesia Berkebun, which aims to create green spaces in the middle of town that (hopefully will) also benefit the surrounding communities. Visit their website for more information.

This post is also featured on Simple Lives Thursday #49 round-up.
Special thanks to the five awesome hosts from Iowa, Diana, Annette, Alicia, Wardeh and Mare.

The Sweet Comfort of Pisang Goreng (Plantain Fritters)

The opulence of glazed natural plantain caramel.

In Indonesia, particularly west part of Java island, you will find a lot of street food vendor selling fried snacks. Such as bala-bala (also known as bakwan, fried wheat flour batter with added vegetables), fermented soybean fritter, fried cassava, cireng (tapioca starch batter filled with peanut paste), comro (fried cassava batter filled with oncom), misro (a kind of sweet comro with palm sugar filling), gehu (bean curd filled with vegetables and fried with batter), sweet potato fritter and plantain fritter. All in one cart.

One of the famous fried snack vendor in Bandung is the one around Dalem Kaum. I must say their plantain fritters are winning, using several kind of plantains with different ways of processing. The most I love is their gegodoh, which use a very ripe plantain. A sweet, tender, greasy treat, with the opulence of glazed natural plantain caramel. And, by the way, it tasted even better when served with a cup of tea or black coffee.

Heaven is as simple as a plate of plantain fritters and a cup of jasmine tea with The Famous Five.

Pisang Goreng - Gegodoh
(Plantain Fritters)

Ingredients:

• 1000 ml oil for frying
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt
• 300 ml water
• 3 ripe plantains

Preparation methods:

1. Heat the skillet in medium, pour in the oil.
2. Meanwhile mix flour, vanilla, salt and water to make a batter.
3. Peel the plantains and cut it anyway you like.
4. Cover plantains with batter, fry in fair heat until tender. Drain and put on kitchen towel.
5. Serve while hot, with tea or black coffee.

Yield 3 serves.

Sweet comfort. Don't you care to dive in? Go on, I know you want to..

This post is also linked to Simple Lives Thursday #49.
The food blog event is hosted by five awesome Iowa bloggers, Diana, Annette, Alicia, Wardeh and Mare.