Although Curious Mike thinks he makes the world’s best bolognese, I would like to challenge that with the omission of soup in a can and the addition of the stuff you either love or hate. No doubt those lovers of Marmite will side with mine, but even if you don’t spread the veggie extract on your toast every morning, there isn’t enough in this to put anyone off.

What you’ll need for about 4 portions

1½ lbs minced beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ pint chicken stock
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
6-8 sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp Marmite
1 tbsp crème fraiche
Dried mixed herbs
Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and lots of black pepper

How it’s done

Pour a little olive oil in a large pot or casserole dish, then add and break-up the mince over a medium heat, stirring as needed. Separately in a wok, over a high heat, add some oil, then the onions, and cook for a minute or two. Then add the mushrooms and the garlic, and cook for 4-5 minutes, no more.

Now add the cooked onions, mushrooms and garlic, along with the chicken stock and the tin of tomatoes. Mix the whole lot up, adding the Marmite and sun-dried tomatoes, and season with the plenty of black pepper, a little salt and a couple of teaspoons of dried herbs.

Bring up to the point where the sauce starts bubbling, add the crème fraiche then simmer over a low heat for 20-25 mins, stirring regularly. Serve up with spaghetti, a good sprinkle of parmesan and garlic bread on the side.

The wine match

Mike matched this with Sangiovese, but since then we’ve had a couple of new additions worth looking at. Naturally, we’ll stick to Italy, but we’ll move from Tuscany to the boot of Italy which has its very own amazing local varieties. Sicily is well known for its Nero d’Avola, and Doricum’s Nero d’Avola is an absolute winner at the price. For a step up, and this is no lie, Dievole’s Pinocchio is the perfect example of an artisan wine built for food.

Our Italian range will have 20% off until the end of August.