Pretty much everyone (apart from vegetarians, I guess) loves spag bol, and most people have their own tried and tested recipes.  We had a load of mince in the freezer, and a slow cooker needing to be experimented with, so what could be better?

We took 4lbs of best Dexter mince from the freezer, and when it had thawed, I put 1lb in the fridge to make meatballs.  The rest was browned up and set aside.

I diced three carrots, two sticks of celery and a a courgette, chopped up a big onion and 5 cloves of garlic, and sweated them down in some olive oil.

Then into the slow cooker went the mince, vegetables, a tin of chopped tomatoes, oregano, seasoning, a bouquet garni, and good sloosh of red wine.  Mindful of the imprecations about things not thickening up in there, I left it at that, fluid wise.  Also mindful of the warnings about slow cookered food not having a depth of flavour (which I find a bit baffling, but still ..), I added a teaspoon of Bovril, and a gloop of tomato ketchup.

I made this while our supper was cooking, and it was cold when we switched it on low at about 10 p.m., before we went to bed.  I went down and inspected it at 7 a.m., and it was gorgeous.  I’d say it didn’t need the Bovril at all, but Pete disagreed.

I think I’m in love with this gadget!