Prep time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 2 rashers quality smoked streaky bacon, finely chopped

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped

• 3 carrots, trimmed and finely chopped

• 3 celery sticks, finely chopped

• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 500g grass fed beef mince

• 125 ml dry red wine 

• 3 x 400g tins plum tomatoes ( you can replace one tin with a cup of Meaghan's Roasted Harvest Tomato sauce, see blog)

•  3 sprigs rosemary leaves picked and finely chopped

• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 2 fresh bay leaves (or dried)

• 3 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 250 ml chicken stock plus 1 chicken stock paste cube (see blog)

• 12 cherry tomatoes sliced in half or 400 g tin cherry tomatoes

• 1 tin of brown lentils (optional, they lower the red meat load and you don't even know they are there)

• Sea sat and pepper

Directions

1. Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Add finely chopped bacon rashers and sauté for 10 mins until golden and crisp.
3. Reduce the heat and add the finely chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic cloves and sauté gently making a sofrito for 10 mins. Stir the vegetables often until they soften.
4. Remove vegetable mixture from pan and increase the heat to medium-high, add 1 tablespoon of oil and when heated add beef mince and cook stirring for 3-4 mins until the meat is browned all over.
5. Add red wine to mince and deglaze until wine is reduced by half.
6. Return vegetable mixture to saucepan and add plum tomatoes, the finely chopped rosemary and thyme leaves, dried oregano, bay leaves, tomato purée, chicken stock, halved cherry tomatoes and lentils. Stir to combine.
7. Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered (to reduce and thicken sauce). Cook for 1 hr 15 mins stirring occasionally, until you have a rich, thick sauce.
8. Check seasoning and add sea salt and pepper as desired.
9. Serve with gluten free spaghetti or if grain free, serve with roasted sweet potato and steamed green veggies with grated parmesan, or nutritional yeast.

Buon Appetito xx