Spaghetti Bolognese

Since I was a child one of my all time favourite foods has been Spaghetti Bolognese. In my eyes it is the ultimate comfort food, especially when covered with gooey cheese! It always makes me feel better. Over the years I’ve tweaked my recipe and although it’s not an authentic Italian ragu it always goes down well. So I hope you enjoy it and do let me know if you tweak it yourself as I am always interested to hear what people do with my recipes to suit their own tastes.

Spaghetti Bolognese
 

Serves 4 -6 (depending on how hungry you are!)
 

Ingredients

500g Beef Mince (or for extra flavour 250g Beef Mince and 250g Pork Mince);

5 slices Smokey Streaky Bacon or Pancetta – roughly chopped;

Large glass of red wine;

400g Can Plum Tomatoes;

Large handful mushrooms –washed and sliced;

Large Onion (white or red-to your own taste) – finely diced;

2 Carrots – peeled and finely diced;

2tbsp Tomato Puree;

1tsp Garlic puree or 2 finely chopped garlic cloves;

Beef Stock Cube;
Small glug of Olive Oil or a tsp butter;

1tbsp mixed herbs;

1tbsp sugar;

A dash of milk;

Spaghetti or your favourite pasta and some grated cheese of your choice to serve.

1.            Brown off the mince in batches in a large pan, drain and set aside.

2.            Pour into the same pan you have just used a little olive oil or a tsp butter. Once heated add onion, carrot and garlic. Gently fry until onion is soft and translucent. Add bacon/ pancetta. Fry for a few minutes.

3.            Add mince back to the pan. Pour in the wine and crumble over stock cube. Simmer until wine has been absorbed (about 10 minutes);

4.            Add tomato puree and combine till all the meat is coated. Add the herbs and mushrooms. Pour in the plum tomatoes and break up with the back of a spoon. Swill out the empty can with a little water and pour into the pan.

5.            Sprinkle over sugar and add a splash of milk. Mix till combined. Simmer for a further 30 minutes. It shouldn’t be a runny sauce. Serve with grated cheese and pasta of your choice.

 

*** I prefer to make mine the day before needed as it gives the flavours more time to marinate and tastes even better!