Bolognese

I completely changed my attitude towards bolognese after meeting my wife, who is half Italian. I've really come to love is a rich meaty sauce rather than the red stuff you get.

1. 1

   Fry the onion really slowly with some salt to help it caramelise. Add the garlic at the end of this process so that you don't risk burning it and making it go bitter.
   Add the beef stock, red wine, tomato paste, bay and the beef. I use rump because I can get hold of it easily and it's quite cheap, but what's important is that you get a slow cooking bit of meat.
   Gently cook on the hob forever until the meat is falling apart easily. Keep it on a low heat for at least 2 hours. Keep an eye on it every now and again to see if it needs topped up.
   Take the meat out and pull it apart with two forks. Add it back into the liquid, season and throw your al dente pasta in too for a couple of minutes to finish it off.
   If you want to bung in some oregano or basil as well that's fine but I have found that thyme works best.