Golly, I just love playing around with old favourites, giving them a new lease on life.  Do not be alarmed by the “whole bottle of red” thingy, you do not have to use a $20 bottle of wine, you do however need to use a good one.  This is how I got the inspiration for this dish.  Aldi.  Did you know that you can get really good reds from Aldi for under $6?  Like, I’m talking Argentinian Malbec and fancy French wines that still have a cork!  Seriously good reds for a fraction of the price and certainly good enough to throw in a lowly bolognese.  With the addition off this bottle of red, your lowly bolognese will become a highly regarded family fave, I can assure you of that.  Best crack open a 2nd bottle to have with 🙂

You can read more about how awesome their wine is below (Geez, I should be getting paid for this plug 😉

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/drink/six-of-aldis-cheap-wines-judged-among-best-at-sydney-international-wine-competition/news-story/eb163e6f8d5e9b85a5522a8d1b622d50

Prep time:  20  Minutes                Cooking time:  1 Hour but the longer the better              $  Low  Budget

Serves 4-6 for 2 Meals (Yippeee)

Olive oil for frying

1 kg of lamb mince

2 brown onions, finely diced

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 bay leaves

1/2 bunch of thyme

1/2 bunch of oregano

1/2 bunch of rosemary

1 bottle of red

700gm bottle of passata

400gm tin of diced tomatoes

1 tbs of good balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp of sugar

1/2 a bunch of chopped Italian parsley

Sea salt and cracked pepper

500gm of pappardelle pasta, cooked according to packet instructions

Freshly grated parmesan to serve

Heat a large, heavy based fry pan and add a little olive oil.  Lightly fry the onion for 3-4 minutes or until soft and then add the garlic.  Fry for a minute or so, turn up the heat to nice and high and brown off the lamb mince.  Sometimes lamb mince can be a little fatty so if you get heaps of excess oil in the pan just lift it out with a spoon and discard.  Tie the rosemary, thyme and oregano together in a nice little bundle with a piece of kitchen string and add it to the pan with the bay leaves, while the mince is browning.  Once the mince is brown all over, pour in the bottle of wine.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and reduce the wine by about half for about 12-15 minutes.

Once reduced, pour in the passata, tin tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.  Season well with salt and pepper and add the sugar.  Stir to combine, allow the mixture to come to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Simmer the bolognese for a good 40 minutes (the longer the better) or until nice and thick and rich.  I found by doing it this way, there was no need to add tomato paste.  Stir periodically.  Sprinkle in 2/3rds of the chopped parsley just before serving, reserving 1/3rd for garnish

Drain the pappardelle and pour half of the bolognese sauce in with the pasta.  Toss to combine and divide between serving bowls, placing a nice smattering of parmesan on top.  Sprinkle over the remaining parsley and serve.  Don’t forget to freeze the other half of the sauce for another meal!

If you have leftover oregano, rosemary and thyme you may like to cook these recipes:

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/herb-crumbed-cutlets-with-pumpkin-sweet-potato-smash-balsamic-roast-tomatoes/