In the same pan sauté a handful of pancetta until it releases it fat, then add an onion, a stick of celery and a carrot, all finely chopped, and two crushed garlic cloves. Once the vegetables have softened and have taken on a little colour add the mince back to the pan.
Add a generous glass of red wine or even better, port (still using a wine glass full), a tin of chopped tomatoes, 1/4 litre of beef stock and a dash of Worcester sauce along with a little fresh thyme, a bay leaf, dried oregano and a good couple of tablespoons of tomato puree.
Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer gently for a couple of hours, adding more water if the sauce starts to go dry.
Season to taste and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a glass of red wine. Serves 4
What quantity of mince would you use for this quantity of tomatoes/onion etc? 500g? Also, when you say a glass of port would you still be using a wine glass sized glass or a port sized glass?!!
Thanks.
Oh dear, I missed a rather vital piece of information off of this one, didn’t I? Sorry about that – I’ll edit it.
Yes, I would use 500g of mince and the port would be a wine glass size- I like to be generous!
Thanks!
I did your beef in port (delish) and fancied trying it with mince. I used two sherry glasses of port for the beef so I’ll up it for this recipe. I’m cooking it tonight for tomorrow evening.
You write so well and the photos are great. It always makes me want to try your recipes out. So often it’s not the cooking that I find difficult after a day at work, it’s the thinking what to have. You do the thinking for me! 🙂
Thanks so much, that’s very kind of you and I’m really pleased you liked the beef in port.
Believe me, there are often days when I feel exactly the same about the thinking!
I’ll go and edit the beef in port recipe too, to make it clear it’s a wine-glass full of port. To be honest though, more often than not I just slosh it in without measuring it! Thanks for the feedback, it’s very helpful to see how the recipes come across, and where things that I do without thinking aren’t necessarily clear to others!