Spaghetti Bolognese

1. 1Cook the pancetta in the oil and butter over a medium-low heat until its fat runs and it starts to colour, about 6 minutes.
2. 2Add the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 12–15 minutes, until soft and sweet but not browned. The soffritto is the base of everything that follows and it does not want colour.
3. 3Turn the heat up and add the mince. Break it up and let it fry hard for 8–10 minutes until it is properly browned in places — crowd the pan and it will grey and steam, which costs you most of the flavour this dish has.
4. 4Pour in the milk and simmer, stirring, until it has almost completely disappeared, about 10 minutes. This comes before the tomato on purpose: milk tenderises the meat, and once acid goes in it can no longer do that.
5. 5Add the wine and let it bubble away to nothing, another 8 minutes or so. White, not red — red is a northern-European habit that arrived later and makes a heavier sauce.
6. 6Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, stock and nutmeg. Season lightly.
7. 7Bring to a bare simmer — a blip every few seconds, no more — and cook uncovered for 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes and topping up with a splash of water if it looks dry. It is ready when the fat has separated and sits orange at the edges and the meat has gone soft enough to collapse under a spoon.
8. 8Cook the pasta a minute short of the packet time, drain it reserving a mugful of water, and toss it through the ragù in the pan with a splash of that water for a minute so the sauce clings. Never serve the sauce sitting on top in a heap.

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