Spaghetti Bolognaise

Serves 4

Ignore the following principles at your peril:

1 It is NOT a 'dustbin' dish, so do not empty the contents of the bottom of the fridge into it! The term 'bolognaise' refers to the region it comes from; it does not mean it can turn a load of crap into something delicious.

2 The slower you cook something, preferably on a low heat, the more flavour your sauce will have.

3 Cheap mince is cheap because it is bound with fat to bulk up the meat content. Seen any benevolent retailers lately?! Buy the best mince you can afford, if it has to be the cheapest, then drain off the fat from the top of the sauce before serving. Lovely!

4 Taste your sauce as you cook and correct as you think, don't be a blind recipe whore.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp oil (preferably olive oil, groundnut will do!)
• 1 Red onion, peeled, halved and finely diced
• 2 Cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 Rashers bacon, chopped up finely
• 400g Minced beef, as best as your pocket allows
• 1 Can tomatoes......here you can save, buy cheapest available
• 4 Fresh tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 tsp of Dried oregano,thyme and parsley, combined together
• 4 Dashes of Worcester sauce
• 1 Chicken or beef stock cube
• 400 mls Red wine or water
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 300 grams Spaghetti
• 1 tbsp oil, preferably olive
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Method

Place a saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for two minutes. Do NOT brown the onions. Add the bacon and minced beef and cook until the rawness has gone from the mince, about 3 minutes.

Add all the other ingredients up to and including the red wine and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring from time to time and tasting at intervals to season with salt and pepper.

Bring a larger saucepan to the boil and add the spaghetti, cook for 7 minutes at boiling, stirring once only. Turn off the heat after 7 minutes and leave the spaghetti in the water for 3 more minutes.

Drain thoroughly and put back into the pan, pour over the tbsp of olive oil, this will prevent the spaghetti sticking together. Stir once.

Pour over the sauce and combine throughly. (The secret of good pasta is toss, toss and toss again!)

Serve with grated Parmesan...............cheddar if you must!