How To Make 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.

1. Step 1:

   Cut the chicken livers into halves or quarters, snip the bacon into small pieces and trim the fat.

2. Step 2:

   Put all the meat into a very large pan over a high heat, breaking up the mince with a wooden spoon.

3. Step 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. Step 4:

   Add the crushed garlic, a finely chopped onion, grated carrot and herbs and cook for a few more minutes.

5. Step 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. Step 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?)