The ingredients you’ll need

• 2kg minced beef
• 5 tbspn olive oil
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• Sprig of rosemary and sage tied together
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 tbspn tomato paste
• 1 litre tomato passata

Cooking Method

Let the meat come to room temperature.  This will help prevent it from boiling rather than searing it when it goes into the pan.

Heat the oil and add the vegetables and herbs.  Sweat over high heat for 5-8 minutes without allowing it to colour.

Season the meat and add to the pan of vegetables, making sure that the meat is covering the base of the pan. 

Leave for about 5 minutes so that the meat seals underneath and heats through before you start stirring (otherwise it will ooze liquid and boil rather than sear). 

Add a little more oil if necessary to make sure that the vegetables don’t burn.

Stir the meat and vegetables for about 10 minutes until the meat starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.  Now it’s ready to take the wine.

Add the wine and let it reduce down to virtually nothing. 

Add the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time.

Add the passata with 1 litre of water.  Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer for 1.5 hours until you have a thick, tender sauce.

Enjoy!