Ragu Alla Bolognese

Takes up to 1 hour total, or longer if you want to leave it simmering for ages.

Serves 4 modest portions

Serve with spaghetti or tagliatelle pasta, parmesan cheese, garlic bread and salad.

Drink with red or white wine.

You will need...

1 x Ragu Alla Bolognese Spice Mix,

1 x Beef Oxo Cube

500g Minced Beef, or Beef & Pork Mix

1 x red onion, diced

1 x carrot, chopped finely

1 x stick celery, chopped finely

2 x garlic cloves, crushed

100ml red wine (optional, but tasty)

1 x tinned chopped tomatoes

1 tblsp tomato puree

200ml water

For a veggie version...

-Replace minced beef with Quorn or other vegetarian mince

- Replace minced beef with cooked red lentils, from a pouch or tin

Method

Heat a generous dash of olive oil in a pan. Add the red onion, celery and carrot, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the beef (or beef/pork) mince and cook until the mince is well browned. Add the Ragu Alla Bolognese Spice Mix, crumble the Beef Oxo Cube in, add the garlic and the red wine, if using. Stir well and simmer for 2 minutes.
Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree to the pan and stir well to mix. Rinse the tomato can with the 200ml water, add to the pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for 30 minutes with a lid on (or longer if you have longer), then remove the lid and simmer for a further 15 minutes, or until the sauce is thick and rich, stirring occasionally.
When ready to cook the spaghetti or tagliatelle, heat a large saucepan of water and add a generous pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions, usually around ten minutes.
Top the pasta with a generous serving of Bolognese, grate over as much parmesan as you'd like, and enjoy!

Spice Mix Ingredients

Paprika, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Mixed Herbs, Sugar, Salt, Black Pepper