Bolognese!

I bet the reason you mostly look at this post isn't for the recipe at all. I bet it's because you can't remember how much dried spaghetti to boil per person. It is 120g.

Which is a bundle about 3cm in diameter. About a big inch per person. Which is a generous amount but won't be any left for seconds (especially if you use one of the recipes below. They tasty!). And now you know it's 120g per person you can also tell the amount of any other shape dried pasta to boil in a Pasta-with-Sauce recipe. It's only different for Lasagne or soup or those types of thing.

Anyway about Bolognaise! The three version here are the ones we do at home. I didn't realise we did three different types until I thought about it but we do it one of three ways depending on what we have in the cupbord and what it is for. (Because, of course, this meaty mixture is the basis for at least a million other tasty meals but see later for that).

The three varieties all start with softening a chopped onion and colouring mince before adding liquid and simmering. However they can start with Keith Floyd's 'Holy Trinity' Which adds carrot and celery in equal quantity to the onion. It can have tomato purée and tinned tomato or passata added. It can have chopped smoked bacon after the onion before the mince goes in. A glass of red wine and garlic work really well in all versions. Normally we'd use a stock blob or two cubes of chicken beef or vegetable stock and plenty of black pepper. Don't add salt until the end because stock cubes are massively salty already.

So far this isn't a recipe, it's a discussion about a recipe. But I know you aren't bored because you are hungry. Mind you it's about time for the recipe so here is a good reliable basic version.

Ok one more thing. Minced beef is available in 5% fat, 12% fat, Organic, Aberdeen Angus and basic value types amongst others. For this you can use anything it will hardly change the result at all. You're going to add a bit of oil as well so probably 5% fat is most healthy, 12% fat is tastier, Aberdeen Angus is nice but probably too expensive. Organic? Hmm... Only if you understand all the implications. It can mean raising animals for food without proper healthcare. Probably better is to make sure the animals had freedom to roam outdoors in a place with actual tasty green grass to eat. Basic value beef is only going to be the cheapest but least tasty.

1 x 400g pkt Minced beef.
1 x medium cooking onion chopped finely. No point using expensive onions here.
400ml hot water with two stock cubes or one blob dissolved in it.
Ground black pepper.
Oil to get the onion and beef browned.
1 x heaped tablespoon of tomato purée. Anything up to half a tube is fine!
Some dried mixed herbs or fresh thyme.
1 x cup frozen peas. (You thought I'd forgotten?)

Heat the oil on medium heat and cook the onion until it is transparent then add the mince and turn up the heat. Stirring all the time to colour the meat all over and break it up into little bits. Browning the meat doesn't mean chargrilling it like a burger. It just means that it goes brown and shouldn't still be red. Although plenty of times I've just mashed it and added the liquid at the next stage. It matters very little but people do go on about it so you can decide.

When the onion and mince mixture is cooking nicely it will start to give up a bit of liquid. When that happens stir in the purée to mix it well in and then add the herbs, pepper, water and stock.

Bring back to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer with the lid on (or almost on) for 25 minutes stirring to make sure it isn't getting too dry (add water if it is) and is cooking all the way through.

Now give it a stir and taste it. Does it need some salt (probably not if you've used stock cubes) or more dried herbs (almost always yes). Importantly, it should have changed from looking like all the ingredients separately added into a properly tasty looking sauce. If you aren't impressed with the appearance then it probably needs another ten minutes.

Add the frozen peas, stir and bring back to simmer.

Personally I think you should add some of the sauce to the drained pasta and stir it around to coat. That is also the Italian way. Presentation is better this way and its roots as a peasant celebration come out better. It also uses a lot less sauce per person which could be important to you at some sparse times in the future. Have a tupperware ready for the leftover sauce.