Mince N’ Whatever

A simple recipe for mince with home-made sauce which can be served with pasta, potatoes or whatever!

Ingredients

• 500g minced beef (cheap is fine, but those bags of frozen ‘mince’ are foul)
• 1 or 2 onions depending on size
• 2 cloves garlic
• mixed herbs – this depends on taste; i use about a tsp full but you can use less or more.
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• oil (olive, sunflower, whatever you’ve got)
• optional ingredients:
• handful of mushrooms
• 1 carrot
• a bayleaf
• red wine / balsamic vinegar

Instructions

STEP 1:

First, dice your onions nice and small and peel, crush and chop your garlic (crushing with the side of your knife makes it easier to peel and released the flavour better). If you’re using mushrooms or carrots, then finely slice them.

STEP 2:

STEP 3:

put about 1tbsp of oil in a large saucepan or deep-sided frying pan and heat on medium until the oil is hot. Chuck in the onions, garlic, sprinkle of mixed herbs and optional carrots and keep on low-medium until the onions are clear, stirring occasionally.

STEP 4:

add the mince, fry until all browned and then add the tomatoes (and mushrooms, wine/vinegar and bayleaf). If you’re having pasta with this, then this is the point at which to start boiling water.

STEP 5:

STEP 6:

allow to simmer for at least 10/15 minutes so that the tomatoes cook. When it’s done you can eat it with pasta, baked potatoes, rice or whatever else you have in your cupboard (mince sandwiches?). Remember to remove the bayleaf if you added one.

STEP 7:

STEP 8:

mince freezes really well, so you can put it in freezer bags or boxes and pop it in the freezer for when you can’t be bothered to cook. Can also be used to make lasagne or shepherd’s pie.