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Nat's What I Reckon - bolagnaise#

Original source and video

Ingredients#

  • 2 sticks of celery
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 150-200g pancetta (or bacon)
  • Bit over 500g beef mince
  • Bit over 500g pork mince
  • 300g tomato paste
  • 1-2 cups of chicken stock
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1-2 glasses of wine (red or white)
  • Butter
  • Oil
  • Bay leaves
  • Fresh rosemary, thyme or other savoury herb (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method#

  1. Dice the onion, carrot, celery and pancetta and bung it in a bowl.
  2. Heat up some butter and a splash of oil in a big pot. When the butter is melted, drop the contents of the bowl in, keep the pan hot, fry until it starts to brown.
  3. Add beef and pork mince, fry the shit out of it until all the liquid has evaporated. Don't worry if it sticks to the bottom a bit, the wine will sort that out later.
  4. Add some rosemary if you like. Just chuck in the whole sprig, including the stick. If you prefer to use alternative herbs, use them here instead.
  5. Keep cooking the liquid out until the meat mix is frying. Once the liquid is fried off, add a glass or two of wine. Let the booze cook off a bit then drop in your tomato paste.
  6. Add milk. Yeah, it might sound weird but you are on this journey now. Add a cup of milk here and then add your stock. The order is important — stock last!
  7. Season with salt and pepper, add bay leaves, put the lid on then cook it all for as long as you like. The longer the better, but minimum 45 mins. Give it an occasional stir and if it starts to look dry add a bit more stock.
  8. Remove the rosemary stick and bay leaves when it's done and serve with pasta and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Can be frozen.