Dinner tonight was inspired by my daily walk to the Viareggio markets, I have my favourite little butcher, deli, vege shop, wine store and bakery. I avoid the local ‘Conad’ and ‘Essulunga’ at all costs!  Between four and five each day I make my way down to the markets and select my goodies!

Tonight the first stop was the deli for our daily ration of Prosciutto Crudo. The additional purchases today being, corizo and parmesan! The owner of the store is adorable and we manage to communicate with our lack of English and Italian combined! Next stop the butcher! Here I cheat a little as he speaks English, so it takes the fun out of trying to order things but at the same time is nice to be able to ask for a certain item and be sure that you are going to get the item that you are asking for! Tonight I couldn’t  make up my mind what I was going to cook until I got to the butcher. A rather short and petite lady in-front of me was ordering up a storm of different cuts and types of meat and one of her orders was mince. A nice slab of meat placed directly into the mincer… Mince to order check! Spaghetti Bolognese check!  A childhood classic!

So here is what I did, I freelanced a little in the kitchen which is what I would like to do more often, but I’m a sucker for a recipe! I guess you could say that I like structure! I must add that this recipe is far from authentic in terms of the Bolognese which originates from Bolonga (a town not too far from here). However it’s pretty good and I will certainly be doing it again the next time I don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen!

First up dice 1 Onion and cook in heavy based pan with a good lug of olive oil, cook until translucent. Then add in crushed up garlic I used 8 cloves for this dish and it was by no means overpowering. To this I then added 1 large carrot diced and 2 stalks of celery diced. Cook for a further 5 to 8 minutes. Place into a bowl and set aside. Now for the freshly ground mince from my favourite little butcher! Get the pan (le cruset if pos) really hot and brown the mince then return your veggies into the pan, at this point a sprinkle of some of your favourite dried herbs can be added also. In goes a glass of wine and reduce. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper! Reducing allows for a great depth of flavour. Chuck in a tin of whole tomatoes next along with a good quality tomato paste or puree which ever you have in the pantry will surfice! Continue to simmer while you boil some water (remember salty like the med!) for your spaghetti… Its now al dente and now ready serve on a large platter for the whole table to share. Serve along side a simple rocket salad with shaved parmesan and freshley squeezed lemon juice! Yummo!