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Bolognese is the dinner most households make most often, which makes it worth getting slightly better. Three things do almost all of the work.

Brown the mince properly — in batches, undisturbed

Most bolognese is grey. Mince tipped into a crowded pan and stirred immediately releases its water and boils in it; it never browns, and browning is where a lot of the flavour lives.

Use a wide pan, add the mince in two batches, spread it out, and leave it alone for two or three minutes before you stir. Let it catch and colour. It feels wrong and it is right.

Two cheap things that add depth

A tablespoon of tomato purée, fried for a minute before the tinned tomatoes go in. Cooking it briefly in the oil removes the raw tinny edge and concentrates it.
A splash of milk. Traditional in Bologna, and it genuinely softens the acidity of the tomatoes and the texture of the meat. Add it after the mince is browned and let it cook away.

Neither takes extra time and both are already in the kitchen.

Forty-five minutes is the minimum

You can eat it after twenty. It will be fine and it will taste like a twenty-minute sauce. At forty-five the tomatoes have lost their sharpness and the whole thing tastes rounder.

Keep it at a bare simmer with the lid slightly ajar. A hard boil makes the mince tight and dry.

Hidden vegetables

Grated carrot and finely diced celery dissolve into the sauce completely over forty-five minutes. A courgette, grated, disappears the same way. This is a reasonable thing to do; announcing it afterwards is not, as covered in feeding a picky eater.

For toddlers

Serve with short pasta rather than spaghetti — far easier to manage with a fork or fingers than long strands. Cool it properly before serving; a mince sauce holds heat much longer than it looks.

Beef mince should reach 160°F (71°C) throughout, per USDA guidance for ground meat.

Storage

Better the next day, and it freezes for two to three months. Cool in shallow containers within two hours, per our storage guide.