Mix the stock cubes with 1 litre of boiling water and set aside near the hob.
Mix the beef and pork mince together until they are well combined. Fry off in a large saucepan with a little oil and salt and pepper in 4 batches, getting a nice bit of colour and caramelisation on the meat. Place the browned meat into the stock while you fry the next batch.
When it's all browned and nicely resting in the stock bath use the same saucepan to fry the finely diced carrots, celery and onion with a little more oil. Fry these on a medium to low heat for around 10–15 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
When the veg is nicely softened squeeze in 2 tablespoons of tomato purée and cook it out for about a minute. Raise the temperature to high and pour in the wine. Use the wine to scratch all the beautiful flavours from the bottom of the pan.
Back in with the meat and stock, also the passata, sugar and a large pinch of salt. Put a bay leaf in, pop the lid on and place in the oven at 160°C Fan for 4 hours. Alternatively you can use a slow cooker for 6–7 hours. When this time is up use a potato masher to mash the meat down into small pieces.
Serve with whatever pasta you like – I recommend rigatoni as it holds the sauce nicely.
Recipe by Colleen Ramsey (Colleen Ramsey: Bywyd a Bwyd).
