Lara Battigelli shows us how to make her take on Spaghetti Bolognese, using premium Irish Hereford Prime beef. This dish was a family favourite growing up, and Lara shares her mum's top tips for creating what she calls "comfort food at its finest."
Serves: 5-6
Ingredients
450g Irish Hereford Prime lean beef mince
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced finely
1 large carrot, diced finely
1 stick of celery, diced finely
120g diced pancetta or bacon lardons
30g freshly grated Parmesan
Handful fresh basil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
400g passata
1 beef stock pot
3 cloves garlic, diced
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp tomato purée
Method
Finely dice the onion, carrot, and celery.
Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables with pancetta until the onions soften. (Tip: Blend the vegetables if you want to hide them in the sauce for fussy eaters.)
Add the Irish Hereford Prime mince to the pan, breaking it up and seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until the mince is fully browned.
Stir in the tomato purée, passata, balsamic vinegar, and beef stock.
Add 100ml of water to the empty passata jar, shake to get all the tomato sauce, and pour into the pan.
Simmer on low heat for at least 25 minutes (ideally 45 minutes to 1 hour), stirring occasionally.
Before serving, mix in freshly grated Parmesan and basil leaves.
Serve over spaghetti, topped with extra Parmesan for added flavour.
