Bolognese Sauce

Lid is on, bolognese sauce simmering

I have just made a bolognese sauce to die for! Yes I know I spelt the name wrong; it is 'bolognaise', but our American cousins don't recognise the spelling! I believe there is a third spelling but it escapes me at the moment.

Anyway, what I used was:

• 1 large onion,chopped 
• 2 cloves of garlic,minced 
• 3 large red tomatoes, skinned and chopped 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• a little freshly ground black pepper 
• pinch oregano 
• pinch basil 
• 1 bay leaf 
• 2 teaspoons sugar 
• a little bit of concentrated tomato puree (for color) 
• 2 peeled and sliced small carrots 
• 1lb of minced beef (ground beef in the US)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Place all your vegetables in a pan with olive oil and fry gently for about 20 minutes. Add water as required. Add herbs, salt and sugar.

In another pan, brown the meat in olive oil and fry until there is not much oil left (the meat releases its fat if you fry it slowly ans steadily over maybe 30 minutes, or maybe a bit less).

Using a colander, drain the fat off the meat. Add the fat to the dogs' dinner. They will love you all the more for it.

Add the drained meat to the pan containing the bolognese sauce. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for a while. Time not important really because it has probably cooked all it's going to cook at this point.

Turn heat off.

Eat next day, or that day if you cooked it just before dinnertime. I cook at night because it is cooler in the evenings to be in a hot kitchen.

Or if its winter, it warms me up in the evenings, take your pick.

VERY IMPORTANT: Now I know this is obvious, but please remember to switch off your cooker before you go to bed!