Slow cooker Bolognese

This is my meaty Italian staple and is dead easy. I’m reluctant to say how many portions it gives because everyone is different when it comes to how much beefy sauce they like to ladle onto their pasta! Personally, I get six good portions from this.

Ingredients

•  2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2¼ pounds / 1kg minced beef
• 2½ ounces / 70g pancetta
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 7 ounces / 200g mushrooms, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• ½ tablespoon of dried oregano
• ½ tablespoon of dried parsley
• 3 tablespoons of tomato puree
• 5¼ fluid ounces / 150ml red wine
• 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 3½ ounces / 100g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve

 Method

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the pancetta and beef in batches until browned.

Tip into the slow cooker with all of the rest of the ingredients, except the parmesan.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

Uncover, stir in the parmesan and cook uncovered on high for one hour.

Serve with pasta and parmesan to garnish.

Trivia

Bolognese sauce for pasta originated in the Bologna region of Italy. The correct designation is to use the type of pasta followed by the name of the sauce. So the ubiquitous spaghetti Bolognese is, of course, spaghetti topped with Bolognese sauce, but it could go with most other pastas as well.