Spaghetti Bolognese

Simple often works best...and this is certainly true for this recipe. I usually make this on Sunday evenings and I always make enough for two meals. This way, I have something ready for a weekday, when it can be more tricky to find the time to cook from scratch. The most important thing to remember when cooking this dish, is that it's essentially a stew, so it needs time to cook slowly. Sounds tedious, but since you can just let the sauce bubble away on the stove, it actually doesn't require all that much attention.

Ingredients for 4-6:

500gr mixed minced meat (half pork, half beef)
2 medium-sized onions
2 carrots
2 sticks of celeriac
2 cloves of garlic
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of beef stock
2 tbs tomato concentrate
1 tsp sugar
1 glass of red wine
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried Italian herbs (alternatively you can of course also use a bunch of mixed fresh herbs if you've got them handy)

Preparation:

1.Cut the carrots, the celeriac, the bay leaves, and the onion in cubes and slowly fry in a bit of olive oil (without browning). When the onions turn translucent and the carrots have begun to soften (this takes roughly 10mins), add the minced meat. Continue to fry until the meat is cooked through (see picture).

2.  Now add the tomato concentrate and the sugar. Mix well before adding the red wine. Once that has reduced by about half, add the stock, chopped tomatoes, the herbs, a good pinch of salt, pepper, and the garlic. Stir and set to simmer for about an hour. The lid should be on but not fully closed.
3. After 1h, season to taste (you might want to add a bit more sugar to counterbalance the acidity of the wine and the tomato concentrate). In case the sauce is still too liquid, allow to cook for bit longer without the lid on. Normally, however, the half-open lid works well and the sauce will have just the right consistency.


I usually serve this with spaghetti and a green salad. Left-overs can either be served the same way, or you can cook some short pasta, mix with the sauce, place everything in an oven dish and cover with grated cheese before baking in the oven for 20mins at 180°C (I would recommend, however, to cook the pasta VERY al dente for this, otherwise they end up getting too soft).