My poor old mother - she was a terrible cook. Worse than me. But there was one dish that she excelled in and that was Spaghetti Bolognese. Back in those days there was no parmesan cheese in Turkey, so my father who travelled to Italy very frequently on business would bring it back. Big wedges of it, like a kilo or more, which she would cut into smaller parts and put in the freezer and then take out and crush in a blender. But she really was an ace with the sauce and everything. So, I have very fond memories surrounding Bolognese.

In the Jamie Oliver recipe below, he uses bacon. Could be good, the kind we had was just ground beef.  Again, below there is Rosemary in the ingredients list - my mother used Basil, and quite frankly I might substitute the Rosemary with Basil. Rosemary is quite intense. But then, who do you trust - Jamie Oliver or me? OK - let's meet in the middle: How about Oregano? I seem to remember my mother using that too when there was no Basil at hand. 


INGREDIENTS

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2 cloves of garlic 1 onion 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary 6 rashers streaky bacon olive oil 500 g minced beef

200 ml red wine 1 x 280 g jar of sun-dried tomatoes 2 x 400 g tins of plum tomatoes 500 g dried spaghetti Parmesan cheese extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

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