Wood family spag Bol

Prepare you veg: chop the onions, garlic, celery, (and herbs if using fresh) slice the bacon rasher in to thin strips or roughly tear into pieces. into a pan of medium heat a tsp of olive oil then fry the onions off until soft add the paprika garlic and celery and heat until soft. add the bacon until cooked then bit by bit add the beef mince and cook until brown.

Add the tomatoe puree and mix together. pour in the chopped tomatoes and crush the beef stock cubes in. add about 1/2 a pint of hot water and stir until the mixture is evenly mixed. add the herbs, spices, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and allow to bubble for 2 minutes. (at this point I usually taste and decide if it is beefy enough if it isn't add either bovril/ marmite or another stock cube to boost the flavour) if you want to make the sauce really rich pour in the glass of wine and allow to simmer for at least 30 mins, stirring occasionally. keep adding some water if the mixture is looking a bit dry or starting to stick.

in another pot bring the water to boil and add a chicken stock cube if you wish to flavour the pasta you will be cooking. add a pinch of salt and a tsp of olive oil. once cooked drain and serve the meat onto. I recommend grating cheese on top to finish off. to really bulk out the dish you can add the soy mince when you add the tinned tomatoes as well as some mixed frozen veg. this dish is one that can be cooked in 45 mins or overnight in a slow cooker (slow cooker version is my preferred just add all ingredients at once and set on low and allow to cooke either overnight or when at work)

****this dishes flavours also keep developing over time so it will taste even better a day after cooking****