Pasta bolognese
Serves 4-6
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: about 2 hours
Like rice pudding, this is S-L-O-W cooking, which produces a wonderful flavoursome sauce for pasta. Use whichever type you prefer. Spaghetti can be a bit tricky to keep separate – the trick is to cook it in a really large pan of salted water. Short pasta, such as penne or fusilli, is easier on that score.
Finding milk in the recipe might be a surprise but it adds a richer depth of flavour and also tenderises the meat.
Pasta used to be out of bounds for people on a gluten-free diet but there are some delicious gluten-free versions widely available now.
Ingredients
25ml extra virgin olive oil
4 rashers streaky bacon, diced into small pieces
450g beef mince, 10 per cent fat
1 tsp sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
200ml red wine
300ml beef stock, cube or stock pot
400g tin chopped tomatoes
½ tsp dried oregano
150ml full-fat milk
500g pasta
fresh basil or parsley, chopped, to serve
parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to serve
Method
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan, deep frying pan or casserole, with a lid. Fry the bacon pieces on a medium heat until golden brown.
2. Add the beef mince and a little black pepper, turn up the heat and colour the meat, stirring.
3. Stir in the onions, garlic and vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until soft – about 8-10 minutes.
4. Add the wine and reduce for 1-2 minutes, until it’s all amalgamated. Then add the stock, tomatoes, oregano and 1 teaspoon of sea salt.
5. Bring just to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 90 minutes, with the lid on but just ajar. Then stir in the milk and cook for another 35 minutes as above; the milk should be absorbed and the meat meltingly tender. If you think the sauce is too liquid, reduce by boiling vigorously for 5-10 minutes with the lid off. Check the seasoning.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, with the lid on, and keep warm while you cook the pasta. If you don’t want to eat straight away, cool the sauce and refrigerate. It will reheat easily when you want to eat.
7. To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook it according to the directions on the packet.
8. Before draining the pasta, ladle out a cup of the pasta water and put on one side.
9. Drain the pasta and toss with a little oil, then serve in bowls, topped with the sauce. If you prefer, you can toss the sauce with the pasta in the pan, adding a little of the pasta water if it seems a bit dense.
10. Top with the chopped herbs. Pass a bowl of grated parmesan around the table or let people grate their own.
TIP Batch cook lots of the sauce (just multiply the ingredients) and freeze it in smaller portions for up to 3 months.