Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

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• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 50 g (1.8 oz) celery root
• 2 garlic cloves
• 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef or half beef, half pork
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 150 ml (5.1 fl oz) dry red wine optional; alcohol only partly cooks off; for an alcohol-free version use broth with a squeeze of lemon juice
• 400 g (14 oz) canned diced tomatoes 1 can
• 200 ml (3/4 cup) beef or vegetable broth
• 100 ml (3.4 fl oz) milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 450 g (16 oz) spaghetti
• Parmesan for grating

Method

1. Dice the onion, carrot, celery root and garlic very finely. Heat the oil in the pot and cook the vegetables over medium heat for 8 minutes until soft.
2. Add the ground beef and brown it for 8 to 10 minutes until crumbly and deeply browned, without stirring too often. Add salt.
3. Add the tomato paste and toast it for 2 minutes. Deglaze with the wine and let it cook down almost completely.
4. Add the tomatoes, broth, milk, bay leaf and oregano, bring to a boil and simmer over the lowest heat with the lid half on for 60 to 90 minutes. Stir now and then and add water if needed.
5. Season with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions and serve with the sauce and freshly grated Parmesan.

Tip: Dice the vegetables as finely as you can. They should dissolve into the sauce rather than show up as pieces.

Tip: The ragù freezes well and also works as the base of a lasagna. Always cook the pasta fresh.

Food safety: Always cook ground meat all the way through: the core temperature at the coldest point must reach at least 158 °F (70 °C) and be held there for at least 2 minutes; use a kitchen thermometer. Do not taste raw ground meat.