• By Francesca Rilotelli
• Published 01/16/2013

I’ll not beat around the bush here – I love Bolognese sauce. I think it’s one of those things where you have something regularly as a kid and it carries on through to adult life. It’s one of the only things I’m actually any good at cooking (pretty much everything else I try is an unmitigated disaster), so I tend to knock this up pretty much anytime I have someone round because there’s only a slight chance I might kill them.

Obviously the way to make any good Bolognese dish fly (whether you use spaghetti or not) is to get the sauce spot on. Do that and you’re on to winner. The way I do it is pretty basic, but the results seem to generate compliments and, considering my limited prowess in the kitchen, it must be at east edible.

First up I get all my ingredients ready, which are: good quality mince, button mushrooms, one large onion, a clove of garlic, tinned chopped tomatoes, a tin of sweet corn and a bottle of Merlot (one for me, one for the pan, etc). I start my browning off and separating the mince until the air is thick with that delicious meaty smell. Next, after I’ve roughly chopped the onion, mushrooms and crushed the clove of garlic, I gradually begin sliding the ingredients into the pan and give it all a good stir.

Once it’s starting to look a bit like a Bolognese I add the small tin of sweet corn (not traditional I know, but it works!), and add a good glug of Merlot. Stir for a bit longer till it starts to reduce, and here comes the controversial bit, add a good squeeze of tomato ketchup and a pinch of chili flakes to liven it up a bit.

Trust me, it’s delicious.

About the Author : Francesca Rilotelli is writing about Bolognese sauce