As we all know – and by that I mean you avidly read here and remember everything I say – I hate mince. This means I’ve never got on with bolognese. Also growing up with a vegetarian mother meant it was never really a staple. TLDR; I’m not a bolognese fan.
Then I made this, and I love it. It’s fancy in its own way, easy as falling over, but makes me look good. And those things are quite important to me. The ingredients list seems long but really apart from the meat it’s a cupboard recipe.
SO. You need:
- 500g stewing beef – go to the butcher, it’s much better than a packet
- OR a kilo of oxtail. This seems stupid amount-wise, but I’m badly estimating taking bone into account. I make mine with the beef and a few oxtails thrown in
- One white onion, finely chopped
- Two carrots, very finely chopped
- One stick of celery, finely chopped
- Two cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Herbs: I’m so basic bitch with this I’ve been using Bart’s Mediterranean herb mix, about a tablespoon. But go mad and use what you like.
- Can of chopped tomatoes
- Same amount of water
- Beef stock cube
- VERY LARGE glass of good red – if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it
- Time.
- Pappardelle or tageatelle
First of you need to make a sofrito: take your onions, celery, and carrots and chop them into tiny little cubes. This is ballache unless you have a food processor. If you do, use that. Mine is currently in storage in Croydon so instead I spent some time listening to the Archers and chopping things very small. It should look something like this. But probably better.
Chuck it in with some rapeseed or other flavourless oil plus the garlic too and sweat everything on a very low heat forever until it’s all soft. Once that’s happened throw in your meat and brown it off.
MEAT
Add the tomatoes, water, wine, stock cube, herbs and stir.
Stick the lid on, put the heat down as low as it will go and cook for at least four hours, probably about six, stirring once in a while.
The meat will pull itself the slower it cooks, if you use oxtail you may need to pull the meat off the bone but I found the bones just came out clean. Reduce it right down until it’s in a thick gravy.
Stir through fresh pasta or reheat and do the same. Eat with lots of fresh Parmesan and red wine. Ignore the prosseco below…
sarahduggers 
What?!