I made 'the best spaghetti bolognese in Britain' - 1 unusual item took it to next level

The beauty of a spaghetti bolognese is that it's so simple to make but also feels so indulgent. It requires very little time or skill and not even that much effort beyond chopping up and sauteeing your ingredients. For those reasons it is perfect for both a weekday evening meal or a comforting weekend treat with a glass of red wine.

The basic bolognese ingredients are no more than minced beef, a soffritto of chopped onions, carrots and celery, and chopped tomatoes, plus some salt and pepper for seasoning. That list of ingredients alone would give you a delicious and inexpensive meal, and you can then, of course, elevate it with the addition of things like garlic and herbs.

You can even add an additional kind of minced meat to the beef for a twist on the flavour (pork would probably be most people's choice) or even reduce the meat content by adding some lentils instead to keep that coarse, meaty texture while reducing the fat and red meat content.

But what I did was take it to a whole different level. I found a recipe online for what was being called "the best spaghetti bolognese in Britain". It came from a Hairy Bikers competition to find the best spag bol recipe and included an ingredient that most of us have in our kitchens but very few of us will ever have considered adding to a bolognese (which is known as a ragu in Italy, where it was first created).

That ingredient was... honey. I appreciate that many Italians reading this may well be sucking their teeth or looking to the skies in shock right now but I thought it was a superb addition which made the bolognese sweet and glossy. But the impact of the tarragon was even better. I would never have previously added tarragon to a bolognese but it tasted fantastic.

The winning cook who came up with this recipe was Jonathan Wood, from Cheshire, who told the competition judges that honey was the key to harnessing that extra flavour kick. Jonathan said: "My recipe boasts a rich sauce with tomatoes, herbs and caramelised beef. Sweetened with my secret ingredient, honey, the richness of the sauce is lightened by the acidity of sherry vinegar, smoked paprika and a little spice from a couple of drops of hot sauce."

He added: "My tip for fellow spaghetti enthusiasts is to get the best ingredients you can afford, take your time, season it well and of course, use a Knorr beef stock pot."

I made my bolognese without the hot sauce because I was cooking for two young children and, while I'm sure it wouldn't have been too spicy, I didn't want to risk them refusing to eat it. As it was, they gobbled it up. So did I.

The best spaghetti bolognese recipe

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 450g lean mince beef
• 400g spaghetti
• 1 beef stock pot
• 0.5 red pepper
• 0.5 medium courgette
• 1 onion
• 1.5 sticks of celery
• 1 carrot
• 2.5 garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• Medium glass of Italian red wine (optional)
• 300g quality chopped tomatoes
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• Tomato puree (a small squeeze)
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• Glug of Worcestershire sauce
• A few drops of Tabasco Sauce
• Pinch of smoked paprika
• Dash of sherry vinegar
• Ground black pepper to taste
• Sea salt to taste
• 0.5 tsp Italian mixed herbs
• 1 tsp oregano
• 0.5 tsp tarragon
• 0.75 tsp fresh rosemary
• 0.5 tsp fresh parsley
• 0.5 medium fresh sage leaves
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 4-5 fresh basil leaves plus extra to garnish

Method

Heat a large saucepan and add a good glug of olive oil. Add the chopped onions and begin to sweat down. Add chopped celery and chopped carrots to make a soffritto. Gently cook the sofrito on a medium heat with 1 crushed clove of garlic, make sure not to colour. Set aside.

Increase the heat of the saucepan and add a splash more olive oil. Add the minced beef and fry until it starts to caramelise and brown (this will add depth of flavour to the meal). Season with salt and plenty of black pepper.

Add the remaining crushed garlic cloves, a good glug of Worcestershire sauce, the finely chopped fresh rosemary, half ripped bay leaf, dried oregano. Mix together.

Once browned, add the tomato puree, and cook off for a minute or two.

In the meantime, add 500ml of boiling water to the stock pot in a measuring jug and stir to dissolve.

Add the red wine to the mince, stir and reduce by a half (optional)

Add the chopped courgettes and the chopped red pepper, stir well and cook for a few minutes. Add the soffritto back to the saucepan.

Pour the chopped tomatoes into the saucepan and add 200ml of the beef stock, stirring well. Add the chopped cherry tomatoes, half bay leaf and remaining herbs (dried tarragon, Italian mixed and chopped sage leaves). Check the seasoning, stir well and bring to a steady simmer on a low heat.

Allow the sauce to slowly come together, add the chopped parsley and more of the beef stock to keep building the flavours and making the sauce smooth.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pan of water to boil and season with salt.

Now add the final ingredients to the bolognese sauce: a sprinkle of smoked paprika, the honey and ripped fresh basil leaves. Mix together.

Add a few drops of Tabasco sauce (if using) and a splash of sherry vinegar. Stir, taste and add more if needed.

Leave to simmer and add more stock if needed to maintain the required sauce consistency.

Add spaghetti to the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes until al dente. Drain in a colander.

At this point you can mix the spaghetti with a bolognese and scoop on to plates, or add the spaghettu to the plate separately (in a spiral, if you like), and top with the bolognese sauce. Finish with shaved or grated parmesan and fresh basil leaves.