Bolognese sauce

Ingredients
1 large onion, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
2 mushrooms, finely chopped
1 slice of smoked ham, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt
500g of minced pork or beef
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons of red wine
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
5 leaves of basil roughly torn (or 1/2 teaspoon of mixed dried herbs)

Method

Over a low to medium heat add olive oil to a large pot - enough to cover the bottom.  Add the onions, celery, mushrooms, ham and garlic and fry, stirring frequently, until all the vegetables are soft and slightly browned. At the same time, add a splash of olive oil to a frying pan. Fry the minced meat until cooked. Throw away any excess oil that collects in the frying pan.




Add the minced meat to the vegetable and ham mixture and reduce the heat to low.  Add the canned tomatoes, the wine and the soy sauce. Put some water in the empty tomato can, about 1/3 of a can, to get any remaining juice out. Add the water to the sauce and stir.  Once the sauce comes to a boil, cover the pot with a lid (or some tin foil) and reduce the heat to simmer.  Cook slowly, stirring often, until the chunks of tomato have dissolved into the sauce.

Add the basil shortly before serving and salt to taste and stir through.

Serve with spaghetti. 

Any remaining sauce can kept in the refrigerator and used for a second dish. E.g. Add to cooked pasta (e.g. fusilli or penne) in an oven proof dish, cover in cheese and cook at 180C fan forced for 25 minutes.