Want to skip the restaurant wait lines this Valentine’s Day? Try this at-home spaghetti bolognese recipe and impress your date with your cooking ability.
Bonus: no need to worry about Covid if you skip the packed restaurants and dine at home this V-day!
Ingredients
Vegetable oil for frying
1 onion, finely chopped
3 carrots, cut into 1cm dice
50g British smoked pancetta cubes
500g lean (5% fat) British pork mince
3 tbsp tomato purée
200ml dry white wine
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
150ml semi-skimmed milk
300g spaghetti
To serve (optional)
Freshly grated parmesan
Method
In a large saucepan, heat a glug of oil and add the onion. Fry for 5 minutes over a medium heat, then add the carrots and pancetta. Fry for another 5 minutes.
Add the pork mince and fry for 3-4 minutes until it starts to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato purée and turn up the heat. Add the wine and bubble for 1 minute. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and milk, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Halfway through the sauce simmering time, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes until al dente (still with bite), or according to the pack instructions.
Taste and season the sauce. Drain the pasta, then divide equally among 4 bowls. Spoon over the sauce and serve with freshly grated parmesan, if you like.
Tips
We swapped beef mince for lean pork mince, and freshened up the flavour with a splash of white wine. Adding milk helps to tenderise meat.
Much of the alcohol in the wine is cooked off during simmering, but swap it for chicken stock or vegetable stock if you like.
