Mince 500g mince may seem a lot for 2 people in this recipe, and yes you may have a little bit leftover, but it reduces down so much when you’re frying it and getting it crispy, which is why I feel like any less is just too little. As for fat content, the higher the fat content, the tastier it will be, but I will leave that up to you to choose. It’s still good with 5% mince. I do tend to go for 20% as I love it that way. Drain the liquid As mentioned, liquid/moisture will prevent any crisping and turning golden. So after a few minutes when the beef has released some liquid, either drain through a sieve or use a spoon to remove it from the pan. The fat is useful of course but the liquid is not - you know what I mean when it releases liquid… Remove it! Wine Totally optional as I know this is a weeknight recipe but if you do happen to have any wine open already, a slosh of wine here is welcome and it deglazes the pan so well. Cheese You can use any cheese you like here - it would actually be really good with a smoked cheese I think? But mozzarella is the gooiest and meltiest. I also think some feta would be good too! Tomato sauce I usually would use a plain passata if I had hours but when you’re short of time, finding little ways to add lots of flavour is key. So I like to use a passata that is enhanced with garlic, herbs or whatever elser rather than a plain 100% tomato one. Try to find one with no added sugar, just lots of tomato, garlic and herbs. Makes it so good.

Make this recipe even easier: If my recipes can try to convince you of one thing, it’s to use your blenders and food processors. I can’t tell you how much I love and use mine - I have a NutriBulletfor blending and a Magimixas a larger food processor but thisKitchenAid mini chopper is so good too for quicker, smaller things. So in this recipe, I just threw the veggies into my food processor and it blitzes them up in 10 seconds vs lots of chopping.

How to double the recipe: very easy, just double it all as above and continue on. I actually like making a batch with 1.5kg beef mince as it freezes SO well and then you have more meals to go when ready with no effort.

What to do with leftovers: if you have leftovers, it reheats beautifully in the microwave or in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water to loosen it. If you have made a huge batch, you can make my pasta bolognese bake.