Freezable Beef and Haricot Beans Bolognese Sauce

I tend to make a double batch of this just to freeze it for later or have on hand in case a friend needs an emergency dinner.  It is so quick to make and so versatile, you can have it with pasta ot baked potatoes - we've even had it on toast when the cupboards were bare.  Give it a whirl!

500 g beef mince

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed (I cheat and use the frozen cubes, or Very Lazy Garlic)

150ml red wine

400g can diced tomatoes

2 Tblsp tomato paste

400g can haricot beans, rinsed and drained

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1 Tbsp dried basil

Heat a small glug of olive oil in a frying-pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft and transparent.  Crank up the heat a bit and then add the beef mince, break up any large pieces and brown it well.  Add the red wine and wait for the hissing to stop.  The alcohol should evaporate and leave the flavour of the wine to enrich the sauce.

Add the tin of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, drained tin of haricot beans, and dried herbs. Give everything a good stir and then let the sauce simmer for at least 20 - 30 minutes.  Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is simmering, you can cook some pasta to accompany it in a large pan of salted boiling water, according to instructions on the pasta packaging.

Toss the sauce through the drained cooked pasta and serve with some steamed greens.
If you wantto freeze the sauce for later, make sure that you only freeze the sauce and not the pasta.  You can defrost the sauce overnight in the fridge and reheat it thoroughly whilst cooking the pasta, or defrost the sauce in the microwave.  Either way I know I can get dinner on the table within 20 minutes from whine to dine. LOL