allotment dinners part whatever

Bolognese alla vedova di piccolo appezzamento

I have spent over two hundred and seventy hours of my life cooking bolognese. It is time well spent! I have tried a few different recipes all of them claiming to be authentic. This I think is the best one. I can only claim it in that I have made slight alterations but since you can't copywright a recipe I don't care! My criteria for allotment dinners is that at least one (preferably more than one) of the main ingredients was grown on our allotment. Here goes.

Bolognese Alla Vedova di Piccolo Appezzamento ( Allotment Widow Bolognese)

Serves 4, or 2 if they are us.

Ingredients:

500g salad potatoes (knocknagoneyensis!) or pasta

olive oil for frying

80g butter (6tbspns)

1 large onion chopped

1 large carrot chopped finely

2 rashers bacon chopped

1 stalk celery

150g minced pork

150g minced beef

50g Italian sausage - can be salami or pepperoni or whatever you want. Just make sure the skin is off.

1 glass white wine

15 ml 1 tbspn tomato puree

1 wine glass stock.

salt and black pepper

75 ml double cream

parmesan for grating

Method

Heat the oil and 4 tbspns butter in a heavy pan.

Cook the onions for about 4 - 5 minutes until clear and soft

Add bacon and cook for further 4 -5 minutes until cooked, if you see what I mean.

Add the carrot and celery and cook for a further 5 minutes or until soft.

Add pork and cook until it is browned

Add beef and cook until it is browned

Add sausage meat

Add white wine, raise heat slightly and cook it until it is absorbed

Mix tomato puree and stock or use 400g of your own tomatoes chopped if you have them!!

Season.

Cook on a very low heat for one and a half hours.

boil your potatoes or cook the pasta according to packet instructions.

Stir in the cream, add parmesan if required and serve.

Apologies for the picture but it was the only one that nearly came out! Will get a better one next time!

When I made this over the weekend we had our own onions and carrots.