The Best Bolognese

Spagetti Bolognese is one the Italian classic.  I still remember my first experience of spagetti Bolognese as a child was when my dad took me & sister & mum to a Italian restaurant, the feeling of excitement and something new.  I was easily happy as a kid haha.
Then come to student its a norm, pasta and sauce is the most convenient and easy to make,  and i think i put a fair amount of this sauce in my trolley. 
As i dont eat beef or lamb, i tend not to eat it when dining out, so tend to make at home.  Sometimes with jar sauces. But making it from scratch is also fun. You can make a big batch and save it also for lasagne, shephards pie or even baked potato, but its definitely not a quick recipe - more like a saturday morning and you got no else to do and have a few hours spare. 

This recipe is taken from my student cookbook - Cheap as chips, better than toast by Miranda Shearer.

Serves 6

3-4 Tbspn Olive oil (might need to add more if the pan gets dry, but the meat should have  some in it)
7g Butter
2-3 Onions, chopped
2 Sticks celery, finely chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and finely chopped
600g minced beef or lamb (or turkey/pork mince or even soy if ur a veggie)
100ml full-fat milk
freshly grated nutmeg
250ml dry white wine
2 x 425g tins whole Italian plum tomatoes
10 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
Salt & Pepper

Method

1)Heat the oil and butter in a pan. Add the chopped onions and turn the heat to medium. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the finely chopped celery and carrots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to coat them well in the oil.
2)Add the minced meat, a large pinch of salt and good grinding of pepper. Crumble the mince with a fork, stir well and cook until it has lost its raw red colour.
3)Add milk and let it simmer until has evaporated, making sure you stir it frequently. Add a tiny grating of nutmeg.
4)When the milk has boiled off, add the wine and let this, too, simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tinned tomatoes, chopping them up inside the pan. Add the skinned and chopped fresh tomatoes. Stir thoroughly and when the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the Bolognese sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers (intermittent bubbles breaking through the surface.
5)Cook, uncovered, for about 3hours, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking it may begin to dry outas the fat separates from the meat. Add 60ml water whenever necessary. At the end no water must be left. Add salt to taste.

Tip: - Bolognese can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
      - chop all vegetables befor doing anything - make life easier.
      - Mince meat should not b from too lean a cut. 
     - use a pot that retains heat.


Happy Cooking