Bolognaise

So, having decided to join in with At Home with Mrs M!'s Monday Meal Planning, I thought I'd better start blogging a few more recipes.  

Bolognaise sauce features heavily in our weekly dinners and this is how I make mine.  The original recipe was given to me by a friend of mine on a (very scruffy now) piece of paper.  Where it originated from I don't know.  Also, I never actually look at the recipe anymore and just sort of eyeball it!!!

I always get clean plates and requests for more from this sauce and I like the way it contains four different vegetables too, not that you'd know it by the taste.

Ingredients

700g Beef Mince (that's the size they sell in my local supermarket)
1 Large Onion
3 or 4 Carrots (depending on size)
3 or 4 Sticks of celery (ditto)
1 Chicken Stock Cube made up to about 250ml
100ml of Milk
Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1 big and 1 small tin of chopped tomatoes 
Glug of Olive Oil

Preparation 

Blitz in the food processor (or grate) the onion and soften in the oil.  Add to this blitzed (or grated) carrots and celery.  Cook on a low heat for about 10 mins. 

Whack the heat up and add the minced beef, stir it really well, until the beef is browned and it as all well and truly mixed in together.

 

With the heat still up high, add the stock and let it boil away, stirring regularly until the meat looks dry again.  Add the milk and nutmeg and do the same.  Once it looks quite dry, add the tins of tomato. and lower the heat until i

 

Lower the heat and leave it to simmer for two or three hours, stirring occasionally.  When all the juice from the tomatoes has been absorbed and you are left with something that looks like this.

Note, some bolognaise has been removed from here - it doesn't cook down that much!!!

We love this with pasta and Parmesan, made into lasagna or for anything that calls for a ragú sauce.  This makes enough for two or three meals for us, so I freeze in portions, any that is left over.  It is equally delicious defrosted, if not better.

I apologise for lack of plated up photos - we were starving!!