Helen’s Bolognese Recipe

Ingredients

• 75ml of peanut oil
• 1 onion, finely diced (180g)
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced (125g)
• 1 celery stick, finely diced (75g)
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar
• 500g of pork mince, or beef, or a mixture of both
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 40g of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp of Shaoxing wine
• 100g of doubanjiang, aka chilli bean paste
• 50ml of light soy sauce
• 310ml of water
• 1 tbsp of cornflour
• 7 spring onions, finely sliced (75g)
• 360g of pappardelle
• 1 large cucumber, cut into thin batons (310g)
• 2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp runny honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• salt
• 5g of coriander leaves, roughly torn
• 1 1/2 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds