Ragu Bolognese with milk

Serves 4 + a bit for the freezer

Ingredients:

800-900g minced beef, pork and/or veal

2 Tbls. olive oil + 2 Tbls. butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 small onions, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 bay leaves

1 branch rosemary

2 Tbls. tomato paste

500ml milk

50ml white or red wine

1L chicken or beef stock

2 tin tomato passata or whole peeled and crushed tomatoes

handful of dried mushrooms

Fish sauce

Parmesan

parsley

Method:

Heat a large, heavy bottomed dutch oven pot or pan. Salt the minced meat and brown it in the the olive oil and butter. This is best done by not breaking up the meat, instead browning it in large pieces and flipping them. Then remove and do this again with any remaining meat. Take out the last bit of meat and then add in the mirepoix. Cook the mirepoix low and slow for 30-40 minutes.

Next, add in the tomato paste, bay and rosemary. Stir to combine and cook for a minute or two. Add the meat back in and add the milk. Turn heat to medium and allow this to simmer until the milk has almost completely evaporated. Then, add in the wine and allow that to simmer to cook out the alcohol. Finally, add in the stock, tinned tomatoes and dried mushrooms. Simmer over low heat for two hours, partially covered. Finish with a few dashes of fish sauce and taste to see if more salt is needed.

Serve tossed with pasta. If eating with pasta, toss a knob of butter in with the pasta while they cook together and always add a bit of the pasta water. Finish with grated parmesan, black pepper and chopped parsley.