Spag Bog – even better than yours!

Everyone has their version of ragu Bolognese, so I’m a little nervous making cocky claims about mine, but it is good I promise… As ever, low (temperature) and slow (cooking) is the key.

• 100g streaky smoked bacon – sliced into small strips, say 3mm
• 2 onions – finely diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 carrots – finely diced
• 3 sticks of celery – finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic – finely sliced or crushed

• 1kg beef mince – fat is fine, so don’t go too lean
• 500g pork mince – also not too lean – veal would be a fine alternative, but I rarely find any

• 1 red pepper – medium diced
• 150g mushrooms – sliced into small ovals

• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon thyme – use more of each herb if fresh rather than dried
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 tin of tomatoes – get the expensive ones – San Marzano – they really do taste better
• 50ml milk – I know it sounds odd, but it helps counteract the acidity of the tomatoes
• parmesan rinds – if you have any loitering in the fridge…

Fry the bacon and onions gently in the oil, in a large pan with a lid. You may want to add a little salt at this point to help the onions sweat with the bacon, aiming for succulence rather than colour. Once they are translucent, add the garlic, carrots and celery and continue to cook over a low heat until these have also started to soften.

Now add the minced meat and turn the heat up to medium, stirring frequently and using your wooden spoon to break up any lumps. Once the meat has lost any rosiness, add the pepper and sliced mushrooms, stirring until they too have started to soften. Stir in the tomato paste and let separate before adding the remaining ingredients. Bring to a slow simmer and cover the pan, heating gently for an hour or so, until the tomatoes have broken down and the mince is integrated into the sauce.

It looks pretty gross until the end, hence no process photos. This should be a meat ragu, rather than a tomato-ey sauce with a few bits of mince in it. Serve on linguine or spaghetti, with plenty of grated parmesan; or as the meat layer in lasagne.