Spaghetti Bolognese

This is my favourite recipe for this well known Italian dish and it tastes even better the next day!

Preparation time 20 minutes. Cooking time 2 1/2 hours.

Ingredients

Serves 6

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot diced
  • 2 celery sticks diced
  • 1 red capsicum diced
  • 6 rashes of streaky bacon diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic crushed
  • 500g lean beef mince
  • 180ml red wine
  • 125ml milk
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • salt and pepper
  • Small bunch of fresh basil leaves
  • 400g spaghetti
  • 50g finely grated parmesan cheese

Method

  1. Heat a deep non-stick frying pan over a high heat then add the onion, carrot, celery, capsicum and bacon and cook, stirring frequently for 15 minutes until soft (you shouldn’t need to add any oil because of the bacon fat). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, around 2 minutes.
  2. Add the beef and cook, stirring occasionally until browned.
  3. Add the red wine and bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the milk, nutmeg and cinnamon and cook until the milk has been absorbed.
  5. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano, stir well and reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until the sauce is well reduced and richly coloured. Season to taste, remove from the heat then stir in the basil.
  6. Cook the spaghetti as per packet instructions.
  7. Serve the meat sauce on top of the spaghetti then sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese.