Everyone thinks they know how to make a bolognese, and most people are in too much of a hurry. This one takes a bit of time, but almost none of it is work — you brown the meat, build the base, then leave it alone for two hours while it gets on with turning into something worth eating. Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients
- 500g British beef mince
- 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped small
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 sticks of celery, finely diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 150ml red wine (optional, but it earns its place)
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 300ml beef stock
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 100ml whole milk
- Salt and plenty of black pepper
- 400g spaghetti, and parmesan to finish
Method
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Brown the mince properly. Get a heavy pan good and hot with a little oil, and add the mince in two batches. Press it flat and leave it alone for a couple of minutes before you break it up — you want it browned and crusted, not grey and steamed. This is the step everyone rushes and it is where the flavour comes from. Lift each batch out and set it aside.
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Render the bacon. Same pan, heat down a little, bacon in. Let the fat run out and the pieces start to colour, about 5 minutes.
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Build the base. Add the onion, carrot and celery to the bacon fat with a pinch of salt. Cook gently for a good 10 minutes until everything has softened and gone sweet. Add the garlic for the last minute, then stir in the tomato purée and cook it out for another minute or two until it darkens.
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Deglaze. Pour in the wine and scrape everything off the bottom of the pan. Let it bubble down by half.
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The long bit. Return the mince, add the tomatoes, stock, oregano and bay leaf. Bring it to a bare simmer, put a lid on at an angle, and leave it for at least an hour and a half — two hours is better. Give it a stir every 20 minutes or so and top up with a splash of water if it looks dry.
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Finish with milk. Ten minutes before the end, pour in the milk and stir it through. It sounds odd and it is not optional — it softens the acidity of the tomatoes and takes the edge off the meat. Taste, and season properly.
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Bring it together. Cook the spaghetti one minute short of the packet time. Drain it, keeping a mugful of the water, then tip the pasta into the sauce with a splash of that water and toss it hard for a minute so the sauce clings. Parmesan over the top.
A butcher's tip
Mince with a bit of fat in it makes a better bolognese than the leanest you can find. The fat carries the flavour and keeps the meat tender over a long cook — go too lean and you end up with something dry and grainy no matter how long you simmer it.
It is also better the next day, so make double. It freezes well for up to three months.
Serve with
Spaghetti is traditional, but this is just as good over pappardelle, layered into a lasagne, or under a lid of mash. A green salad and something to mop up with is all it needs.
Shop our beef range — or take a look at our cooking guides for more from behind the block.