Lamb ragù with fennel seeds

I love a good ragù, or bolognese as most of us would call it. And I now know that the quick way we tend to do it is not the tastiest way. Try and let it simmer for at least an hour-and-a-half, longer if you can. Normally, you'd add water to make sure the meat stays moist but I made this easy by adding 2 tins of chopped tomatoes to just 250 g of mince. This should serve 4 - 6 people. As there are only two of us, we had dinner for two nights: stuffed aubergine and couscous on Tuesday and pasta with ragù on Wednesday.

250 g lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
1 whole bulb garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
2 tins of chopped tomatoes in thick sauce
good glug of dry white wine
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp brown sugar

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, e. g. Le Creuset, heat some olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic and fennel seeds for about 5 minutes without browning. Add the mince and sauté until lightly browned all over. Add the tinned tomatoes, wine and sugar and season with pepper and salt. Simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours.

Serve with pasta and sprinkle with freshly ground parmesan. Alternatively, stuff halved peppers and aubergines. Bake for 30-45 minutes at 200 °C.