I had an unexpectedly horrible evening. I won’t go into it but it has rocked me in ways I have found unpleasant and distasteful. However, I still have to eat. I still love food and it feeds my soul much better than people at the moment…

As well as my craving for that rhubarb cake, I also felt the need to make and eat a Bolognese sauce. I found a recipe online that I thought I’d copy as it seemed simple and I was attracted to the idea of adding milk to the recipe.

How did the sauce come out? Just OK, just OK I would say.

It was more watery than I expected – next time I might add much less of the stock. It was not as tangy as I would have liked (I remember now that in my own version of bolognese sauce I always add Worcester sauce). The addition of milk was pleasing and added a smoothness to the texture but it was not enough to make up for the other ‘missingness’ of this concoction. Anyhow, it still made for a satisfying meal.

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped  

450 g minced beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

120 ml dry white wine

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 tbsp tomato pureé

450 ml beef (or chicken) broth

1 bay leaf

230 ml whole milk

3/4 tsp Flaky sea salt 

Freshly ground black pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large casserole dish over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add onion, carrot, and celery, and cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Stir in beef and garlic, breaking up meat with back of a spoon. Cook until no longer pink and lightly seared, about 8 minutes. 
2. Add wine, and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook until wine is mostly reduced. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, and bay leaf, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, allowing flavours to meld. 
3. Discard bay leaf, then gradually stir in milk. Cover with a lid slightly ajar and simmer, stirring occasionally, until milk is fully incorporated, about 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

You can find the recipe here: www.delish.com/uk/cooking/recipes/a29755014/bolognese-sauce-recipe/