Makes 5 portions, so can freeze and have at a later date

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped (if you can’t find fresh rosemary just used dried)
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 500g beef mince

Sauce

• 1x400g tinned plum tomatoes
• Small pack basil, leaves picks and finely chopped (If you can’t find fresh basil, just use dried basil)
• 1tsp dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 250g beef stock cube
• 125ml red wine
• 7 cherry tomatoes

To serve

• Spaghetti

Instructions

1. Prepare all the ingredients listed above.
2. Put a large saucepan on medium heat and add 1tbsp of olive oil.
3. Add onions, carrots, celery sticks, red pepper, garlic cloves and the rosemary, then fry for 10 minutes. Stir the vegetables until they are soft.
4. Increase heat to medium high, add 500g beef mince and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes until the meat is browned over.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes, basil, 1 tsp oregano, 2 bay leaves, 2 tbsp tomato puree, 250g beef stock cube, 125ml red wine and the cherry tomatoes.
6. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the plum tomatoes.
7. Bring to boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until you have a rich, thick sauce.
8. When the Bolognese is almost finished, cook the spaghetti following the instructions on the pack.
9. Drain the spaghetti and pour into a bowl, then put the Bolognese on top to serve. You can also have this with garlic bread or grated parmesan.

Cost

• Onions = £0.28 (from a pack of 3 onions)
• Carrots = £0.12
• Celery sticks = £0.90
• Garlic cloves = £0.16
• Rosemary = £0.70 (£1.60 for dried rosemary)
• 1 red pepper = £0.45
• Beef mince = £2.19

Cost = £11.58.

Which is also equal to £2.31 per portion of spaghetti bolognese. Can’t say much fairer than that.

(These prices are from Tesco, the average price supermarket, so you could get cheaper prices at cheaper supermarkets).