Family spaghetti bolognese

1 Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a very large saucepan over
a medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the onions, carrot, red pepper and celery and fry, stirring occasionally, for about 8 min or until the vegetables have softened a little.

2 Add the bacon strips, bay leaf, garlic and thyme to the mixture and continue to fry for another 3 min. Squeeze in the tomato purée and mix. Increase the heat to maximum, then fry the whole lot, stirring, for 2 min. Add the tomatoes and 1 cup (300ml) of the stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very low simmer.

3 Put a large non-stick frying pan on a second hob over the maximum heat, then pour in a drizzle of the remaining oil. Add half the beef mince to the frying pan and don’t touch it – let it fry hard for about 1 min, then spread it out a little across the base of the pan. The idea here is to brown the meat – too much prodding doesn’t help! Tip the browned meat into the gently simmering tomato sauce. Wipe the beef pan clean, then put it back over a high heat and repeat the process with a little more oil, the rest of the beef mince, then the turkey mince.

4 Bring the pan of bolognese up to a simmer, partially cover, then cook, stirring now and then, for 1 hr 30 min. Make sure it doesn’t boil dry, adding more stock if needed. When it’s almost ready, cook the spaghetti in unsalted water according to the pack instructions.