RECIPE: TIEVOLINESE (BOLOGNESE)

I have tried many different recipes for Bolognese over the years, as have we all. But none have come close to making my taste buds burst as much as this following recipe.

If you like rich, strong and intense flavours......... This is for you!

Serves 4:

Ingredients:

• 400 gm extra lean beef mince (Marks and Spencers does the job)
• 2 large garlic cloves (roughly chopped)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme
• large onion (finely chopped)
• mushrooms (as many as you like. I like LOTS)
• 2 x Tbsp olive oil (I use Porcini mushroom infused rapeseed oil. Mmmm!)
• 250 gm roughly chopped chorizo
• 10 large vine ripened tomatoes (quartered)
• level Tbsp of sea salt
• level tsp of ground black pepper
• 100 ml of red wine (any will do)
• heaped tsp of dried oregano

Directions:

1. Prepare an oven at 200c. Add the tomatoes, thyme, one of the Tbsp of olive oil, garlic and sea salt to an oven proof dish or deep baking tray. Mix together well with your hands and place in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until the skin starts to go dark/black. (This is fine, the blackening adds to the overall flavour)
2. Meanwhile, heat the remaining Tbsp of olive oil in a large saucepan or wok and cook the onions for around 3 minutes. Add the chorizo and stir well for around a further 3 minutes. Take off the heat.
3. Add the mince and stir WELL for around 3 or 4 minutes. You want the meat to absorb the flavour of the chorizo without completely cooking through and you want to mince to break down. The less lumpy the mince is, the better!
4. Remove tomatoes from oven and scoop only the individual tomatoes themselves and small bits of garlic into the saucepan with the mince.  Leave behind any thyme, salt and oil. 
5. Cook together in the saucepan on a low heat for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
6. Add the mushrooms, oregano and red wine and continue to cook for around 10 minutes. The longer you let the mixture cook, the further the liquid will reduce, increasing its rich and intense flavours. Don't be afraid to remove from the heat once you find your desired flavour.
7. Prepare your linguine in a large saucepan according to packet instructions. If you wish to make you own pasta, follow my pasta recipe here. (Make sure you rinse the cooked pasta under a hot tap to remove any stickiness it may have after boiling)
8. Re-heat the mince and place a good "dollop" on top of the pasta. Use a fork to stir the pasta and mince together before serving.
9. Finally, grate a generous amount of fresh Parmesan over the top to finish things offs.

Worth noting: I designed this recipe to be less wet and runny like I find a lot of homemade Bologneses. This is meant to be a more compact and less watery version of this famous Italian dish. But feel free to play with a consistency that fits your taste buds better.