Serves 5-6.

Ingredients

• 500g lean beef mince
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 2 rashers bacon, diced
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• ½ cut tomato paste
• ½ cup beef stock
• 2 x 400g tins diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 bourquet garni (see Cook’s Tips)
• 1 sprig rosemary
• ¼ chopped fresh oregano

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion and bacon, tossing regularly until the onion is golden. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.

Remove the onion and bacon from the pan and add the beef mince. Break the meat up with a fork as you cook over a high heat to brown. Strain off any meat juices.

Return the onion and bacon to the pan with the tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste becomes quite brown in colour (this adds a wonderful flavour).

Add the tomatoes and juice, stock, bouquet garni and rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring regularly until the sauce is thick and has a good flavour.

Stir in the oregano and adjust seasoning.

Serve over spaghetti with grated Parmesan cheese to accompany.

Cook’s Tips

As garlic has a higher sugar content than onion, add it once the onion is softened, as it will burn before the onion is ready and you cannot remove the acrid taste it will impart if burnt.

When browning meat either in pieces or as mince, you need a hot pan that is not crowded with too much heat. Done this way your final dish will have more flavour and a better colour. If the pan cooks too slowly, the meat stews and turns grey rather than becoming a delicious brown colour.

A bouquet garni is prepared from a bay leaf tied with a few sprigs of thyme and a few stalks of celery. If using the dried bouquet garni mix, add about ½ teaspoon.