Vegetarian Ragu and turning it into meat Bolognese sauce

Vegetable ragu:

Ingredients:
3 large carrots
3 large stalks of celery
3 zucchini the same size as the carrots
1 large tin of whole peeled tomatoes
lots of herbs. I use marjoram, oregano, basil and thyme.
2 large onions

In a food processor whiz all veggies but the onions into mush. Do in batches if you only have a small hand processor.

In a large saucepan cook the onions in a small amount of olive oil until caramelised.

Add the vegetable mush, put the lid on, and simmer for 2-3 hours for the flavours to infuse.

Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container.


Bolognese Sauce:

Ingredients:

500gm (a pound, ish) lean ground pork. you can also use veal or beef if you want. Get the good stuff from the butcher tho, the grind is smaller.
3 slices lean bacon (it's a real thing)
a hand full of button mushrooms chopped
1 large onion
a few shakes of worchestershire sauce
a few shakes of raspberry vinegar (not even joking)
A few large ladles of vege ragu

in a large saucepan or frying pan heat olive oil until hot.

Add bacon, onions and mushrooms. Cook until well caramelised. (I cooked until just shy of burnt and it added a really nice smoky flavour).

Add ground pork and stir constantly to break up. Cook until partially brown and then sprinkle with worchestershire sauce.

Add vege ragu to the type of sauce you like (I add a whole batch of ragu to 500gm of meat because I like a thin sauce, lesss ragu, thicker sauce).

Add a few good dashes of raspberry vinegar and some wine (if you so desire, I use white because its a bit softer/sweeter), put the lid on and simmer for at least an hour. The longer you cook the better it'll taste.

Rhubarb pudding with orange brown sugar sauce

Rhubarb pudding with orange brown sugar sauce

Give it a shot, I just made it up today. Feeds two, or one if you're really hungry and don't want to share.

Pudding:

1/2 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup rhubarb, roasted with crystallized ginger*

Sauce:
2 large orange juiced (dump the pulp in the juice for extra flavor)
1/4 cup brown sugar

method:

Heat oven to 180 (160 fan forced)
Brush medium sized pudding or casserole dish with melted butter.

Put the flour, brown sugar in a bowl.
Heat the milk and butter.
Add milk, butter and rhubarb to dry ingredients and mix.
Place in a medium sized pudding or baking dish.

Heat the orange juice and brown sugar in the microwave for a minute until the sugar is melted.

Carefully pour the juice mix over the back of a spoon onto the pudding batter.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer put into the middle of the pudding comes out clean.

Serve with cream or ice cream.



*To roast rhubarb:

Heat oven to 160c, 140 fan forced.
Wash and cut rhubarb into cm size pieces.
Place a handful of crystalized ginger in a food processor and whiz until fine.
Put slightly damp rhubarb and ginger crumbs into a large bowl and mix with your hands.
Place a single layer of rhubarb in the bottom of a deep roasting pan.
Spread any remaining ginger over the top.
Cover the roasting pan with foil, do not allow the foil to touch the rhubarb.
Slowly roast for approximately 45-60 minutes until the rhubarb dents when you press with your finger.
Place in a heatproof bowl while hot and mix to separate the rhubarb fibers.
Allow to cool in the bowl before using in pudding.