Spaghetti Bolognese
An Italian classic meat sauce from Bologna.
Ingredients
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium onions finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
- 2 sticks of celery finely chopped
- 2 carrots finely chopped
- 400 grams minced beef
- 400 grams minced pork
- 300 ml red wine
- 250 ml milk preferably full fat
- 800 grams tinned tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp thyme leaves
- sea salt
- black pepper freshly ground
Instructions
- Put the butter and oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and heat over medium heat until the butter has almost melted.
- Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, celery and carrots and cook for further 5 minutes or until the carrots and celery have softened.
- Add the minced beef and pork to the pan, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon and stirring until all the meat has browned.
- Season with sea salt and black pepper
- Add the wine and cook until it has mostly reduced.
- Add the milk, and cook until it has mostly reduced.
- Add the tinned tomatoes, bay leaves and thyme.
- Cook for on a low heat until the meat has become very tender (about 2 hours) gently stirring every 20 minutes. Do not let it boil - the heat should be just low enough to allow very gentle bubbles to rise to the surface.
- Serve with spaghetti or your favourite pasta, and plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese.