Marion’s Spaghetti Bolognese

Heat the two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the beef and spread it out in the pan. Season with a sprinkle of salt and allow to sear for 3-4 minutes or until you get a nice deep colour on the bottom of the mince. Then break the mince up with your spatula. Add the pork mince and cook for another couple of minutes or until almost cooked through.

Add the onion, garlic and carrot. Mix through and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the onion to soften. Stir through the tomato paste until well combined. Then pour in the crushed tomatoes and the stock. Add the star anise, bay leaves, chillies, thyme, rosemary, soy sauce and sugar. Turn the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, being sure to check that the mixture doesn’t become too dry…if it does just stir through a little water).

Remove the lid and stir through the cream and lemon zest. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Use tongs to remove the star anise, bay leaves and chillies. Stir through the white pepper and season with salt to taste. Remove from heat.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente.

To serve, add the spaghetti straight from the boiling water into the bolognese sauce (do this in a separate clean pan if you’re not using the full amount of sauce). Add a little of the pasta cooking water, the parmesan cheese and a drizzle of oil and stir the pasta and sauce over high heat for a few minutes until thick and glossy. Divide among serving plates and drizzle with more olive oil and add as much parmesan as you like. Serve with fresh basil if using.