#This light meat sauce is swelled with tomatoes, mushrooms and pine nuts. It is a lot less rich than a typical bolognese sauce and lower in fat too.# Put the mushrooms in a bowl, add enough boiling water to cover, then soak for 20 minutes. Squeeze them dry and chop finely.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and cook over low heat until soft. Increase the heat, add the meat and fry until browned. Add the pine nuts, mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs and salt and pepper, stir well and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat and cook slowly for 1 hour. Stir at regular intervals and, if necessary, add a little of the reserved tomato juice to keep the sauce moist.

Around 10 minutes before the sauce is ready, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, or according to the packet instructions. Drain well.

Add the sauce and Parmesan to the pasta and mix well. Serve at once, sprinkled with extra herbs. Serve the extra cheese separately. #Variation# Use minced pork, veal or lean lamb instead of beef.