CLASSIC SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

The number one favourite in the late seventies and early eighties,
Spaghetti Bolognese is so far out of fashion as dinner party food
these days it’s about to stage a comeback (remember, you read it
here first).
Anyway, there are two types of Spaghetti Bolognese; the kind you
make in five minutes flat with a packet of mince and a jar of instant
sauce, and the real deal which includes bacon, chicken livers and, of
course, wine – traditionally white, although red does the job just as well.
1lb + (500 g) minced beef
6 rashers of back bacon
Small packet or tub of chicken livers
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 carrot
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
Tomato purée
1 beef stock cube
1⁄4 pint (150 ml) of dry white wine (approx)
Oregano or Italian herbs
Method
1. Cut the chicken livers into halves or quarters, snip the bacon
into small pieces and trim the fat.
2. Put all the meat into a very large pan over a high heat, breaking
up the mince with a wooden spoon.
3. When the meat is just cooked through, almost cover the pan
with a lid then tip the pan and carefully strain off as much of
the fatty liquid as you can.
4. Add the crushed garlic, a finely chopped onion, grated carrot
and herbs and cook for a few more minutes.
5. Crumble a stock cube into the pan, add the chopped tomatoes
with about half a tube of tomato purée, pour in the wine, give
it all a good stir then cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for
about half an hour. (Thicken the Bolognese with more tomato
purée, or if you want to thin it down, use more wine or a
mixture of beef stock and wine.)
6. Serve with spaghetti. Obviously. And if, like me, you don’t enjoy
messing about with long strands of spaghetti – and you hate
watching other people messing about with long strands of
spaghetti – break it into much smaller pieces before cooking
so you can just fork it up without trailing it all over your chin
first. (I mean, what’s the point?)