How is everyone keeping? I am guessing most likely you are all bored, fed up and feeling like this is groundhog year? I know I am. I have quite literally no news. I talk to my family every day, and to be totally honest, I don’t know what we talk about other than which vitamin D supplement we need to buy or when will vaccines be distributed to each age group and of course the crazy Irish weather!
Anyway, moving on to today’s recipe. Growing up I ate a LOT of pasta and a LOT of Bolognese. And surprisingly to this day, Bolognese is still one of my all time favourites, along with lasagne. I could eat it every day if needs must.
I don’t make Bolognese very often, not because it is difficult, but because it is just time consuming. I like to cook my Bolognese for a good hour and a half minimum. So usually once a month, I make a big batch of Bolognese and I use this to make one lasagne, one two person portion for the freezer and keep the remainder fresh for use in the next few days for myself and my son.
This Bolognese is just so good. It is rich and earthy and so aromatic. The longer the sauce cooks, the richer it becomes and when you add pasta, the sauce coats the pasta beautifully.
RICH BEEF BOLOGNESE
- 750 g beef mince
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- roughly 2 large carrots (about 100g), chopped finely
- 300ml hot beef stock
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes, or fresh if in season
- 250 ml red wine
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried mint
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
THE HOW
Heat the oven to 170°C (fan oven).
Over a low to medium heat, add the olive oil to a large oven proof lidded saucepan. Once heated, add in the chopped onions and stir. Allow to soften for about 1 minute. They don’t need to fully cook. Add in the crushed garlic and stir.
Turn the heat up a little and add in the beef mince. Stir every few minutes until all the mince has browned.
To the pot, add in the red wine, dried herbs, tin of tomatoes and the chopped carrot and stir. Cook until it is hot again. Add in the hot beef stock and the tomato purée and stir. Bring to the boil and then turn off the heat.
Pop a lid onto the pot and place in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. Stir every 30 minutes at least! It will be cooked after 30 minutes but the sauce won’t develop as much flavour.
If at any stage it gets a little on the dry side, add a little water. You want it to be rich a saucy so you can coat the pasta nicely with it or mop up the sauce with a nice slice of sourdough.
Serve with pasta, mashed potato or just eat a whole bowl on its own.
Top with parmesan cheese and maybe a little fresh dill. Ultimate comfort food at its finest.
Kitchen Feasts 
It’s so smart to cook in big batches, especially dishes that freeze well.