I love my boyfriend more than anything else in the world. But there’s no way in hell I could tell you his phone number. Besides the 07.. it starts with, I know nothing about what comes next. I think there’s a 5 in there somewhere, but who knows..?

But if you asked me to knock you up a bolognese I wouldn’t even blink, and an hour later you’d be sat at the table with a plate in front of you, with not a recipe or a weighing scale in sight.

Isn’t it funny what we can and can’t remember off by heart?

This is probably the first recipe I ever learnt by rote, thanks to my mum’s endless patience in the kitchen, and to this day her version is still my favourite meal of all time.

All quantities depend on what’s at hand, and it’s evolved slightly over the years, but the basics are:

One red onion, diced
One fat clove of garlic, or a few skinny ones
500g mince
Diced chorizo, if there’s any in the fridge
A good squeeze of tomato puree
2 cartons or tins of chopped tomatoes, then enough water to swill them both out
A handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, halved
A sprinkle of mixed herbs
Brown sauce, tomato sauce, and water, as necessary

Cook the ingredients together in the order listed above, and leave to slowly bubble away for as long as you have, but ideally at least 45 minutes to an hour. Good things come to those who wait..