Bolognese Sauce 🇮🇹

For a hearty family meal, you can't beat anything made with the Bolognese sauce.  Thank the Italians for this most popular meat sauce which we stir liberally into spaghetti, spread between layers of lasagna sheets, pile over baked potatoes and burger buns, use as a base for cottage pies, moussaka, nachos, stuffing for capsicums and cabbage rolls ...  It is very handy to cook up a batch and store portions of it in your fridge or freezer as a standby.  My way of making the Bolognese sauce has evolved over the years.  While I understand that the classic Ragu alla Bolognese is made with milk and slow cooked for hours, I use tomato passata and shorten the cooking time in this recipe for convenience.  Two serving suggestions - spaghetti bolognese and pasta al forno - are pictured above.

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 3 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 100g / 3½oz bacon or pancetta, cut into small bits
• 500g / 1lb 2oz beef mince, or half pork and half beef
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 700ml / 24fl oz tomato passata
• 1 cup beef stock, warmed
• 3 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• sea salt, to taste
• a sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium heat, add the bacon/pancetta and cook, pushing them around a little, for about 2 minutes until the fat is rendered.
2. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes until they begin to sweat.  Add the garlic, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are wilted.
3. Turn the heat up to medium high.  Push the vegetables off to the side and add the meat, a handful at a time.  Let the meat brown on one side before tossing it about to cook through, mixing it into the vegetables.  Continue to cook and stir until all the juices released from the meat have evaporated.  Reduce the heat slightly as the liquid diminishes so the meat doesn't burn.
4. Pour in the red wine and let it cook for 2 minutes or until almost completely evaporated.  
5. Add the tomato paste into a cleared space in the middle of the pan.  Let it cook for 1 minute, then mix it up with the meat and vegetables.
6. Toss in the bay leaves, oregano, thyme, basil.
7. Stir in the passata, sugar and the warm stock.  Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  Cover and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid level has reduced and the sauce has thickened.  Add more stock/water if the sauce is drying up too quickly.  Cook uncovered for the last 10 minutes if the sauce is too watery.  
8. Have a taste of a bit of meat and sauce.  Season with salt as needed.  Sprinkle on some black pepper.
9. If you are not using the Bolognese sauce right away, let it cool and store in measured portions in the fridge or the freezer.