Nearly NY Times Bolognese

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 20 g butter
• 1 large onion (or 2 small), finely diced
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 500 g beef mince
• 500 g pork mince
• 200 g mushrooms, finely diced
• 3 large tomatoes, cut into 2 cm pieces
• 1 cup white wine
• ⅓ cup cream
• 680 g passata
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Grated Parmesan, to serve
• Fresh basil leaves, to garnish

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the soffritto - Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5–10 minutes, until starting to soften.

2. 2

   Build flavour - Add the carrots and celery, stir to combine, and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 5 minutes more.

3. 3

   Brown the meat - Add both the beef and pork mince. Break it up with a spoon and stir through the vegetables. Cook until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.

4. 4

   Add mushrooms and tomatoes - Stir in the mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook until the mushrooms have reduced by about half and the tomatoes can be crushed with a spoon, roughly 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Deglaze with wine - Pour in the white wine, stir well, and reduce the heat until gently simmering. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the wine has mostly cooked off, at least 40 minutes.

6. 6

   Creamy reduction - Pour in the cream, stir through, and let it reduce again for another 40 minutes.

7. 7

   Tomato finish - Add the passata and tomato paste. Stir well and leave to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until rich and dark in colour. This stage should take 60–90 minutes, but it can go as long as 3 hours if you have time.

8. 8

   Serve - Serve with your favourite pasta, topped with grated Parmesan and fresh basil.