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Meat sauce with tomato and red bell pepper

This is a quick meat sauce that I like to stir into linguine and finish with grated mature cheddar.

Ingredients

• Tomato passata, 500g
• Red bell pepper, 1
• Brown onion, 1 large, diced
• Garlic, 3 cloves, minced
• Basil, a good handful
• Beef mince, 300g
• Tomato purée, 1 tbsp
• Salt + pepper

Instructions

1. Roast the bell pepper until the skin is evenly charred. You can do this on the grill, over a gas hob, in an oven, etc. Once charred, pop in a bowl and double wrap with cling film and set aside for 15 minutes to steam.
2. Once steamed, remove the skin, seeds and stalk, roughly chop and add to a large mixing bowl with the tomato passata and a good handful of basil leaves. Blend until smooth and set aside.
3. Put a good-sized pan on a medium-high heat, add a touch of vegetable oil followed by the onions and cook until they start to turn translucent.
4. Add the garlic then cook for a few minutes.
5. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for a few minutes.
6. Stir in the mince a handful at a time and season well with salt and pepper. cook for a few minutes until the mince is cooked through.
7. Stir in the blended sauce and simmer on a gentle heat for ~30 minutes.