I add 1 food scrap to my spaghetti bolognese for a richer and tastier flavour

Spaghetti bolognese is a staple dinner for many, made in a variety of different ways. It's super versatile, and you can add numerous vegetables to a bolognese, including mushrooms, carrots, and celery. I make a slow cooker spaghetti bolognese regularly, following and adapting Poppy Cooks' recipe.

It's a fairly standard recipe that produces a delectable bolognese, but it's made even richer and tastier with the addition of one ingredient: a Parmesan rind. The rind slowly releases flavour throughout the cooking time, which deepens the flavour.

The rind also contains collagen-like proteins that gently melt, giving the sauce a silkier, rounder feel in the mouth.

This helps to balance the acidity from the tomatoes and the wine without giving too much of a cheese or dairy flavour.

You don't have to slow-cook the dinner either to get the results from the Parmesan rind. Adding it to your bolognese will also yield similar results.

Slow cooker bolognese recipe

Ingredients:

500g pork mince

500g beef mince

One large onion, finely diced

Two celery sticks, finely diced

Three tablespoons of tomato puree

400g can of chopped tomatoes

200ml red wine

200ml beef stock

Half a teaspoon of sugar

Two bay leaves

One parmesan rind

Splash of olive oil

100ml whole milk

300g spaghetti

One tablespoon of cornflour, slackened with water

Method:

Start by adding the pork, beef, onions, carrots, celery, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, red wine, stock, sugar, bay leaves, parmesan rind, one teaspoon of salt, lots of pepper and a splash of olive oil to the bowl of your slow cooker.

Slow cook on low for eight to 10 hours, stirring once or twice in that time. When the timer has one hour left, stir in the milk. Then, when there are 30 minutes left, add the spaghetti and turn the heat up to high.

Sometimes I'll boil the spaghetti separately, but once the meat is fully cooked, stir in the cornflour slurry and add plenty of olive oil. The bolognese will be glossy, delicious, and you'll thank yourself for adding the parmesan rind.