For 6

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
110g (¼ lb.)Smoked Streaky Rashers
425g (1 lb)Minced Beef
2 medium Onions
1 large Red Pepper
600g Tomato Passata (or Tinned Chopped Tomatoes)
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
12 stoned black Olives
1 Tablespoon red Wine Vinegar
300ml (½ pt. ) Stock or Water
Salt and Pepper
500g (1lb 2oz.) Spaghetti

Chop the rashers and peel and slice the onions.
Cut the pepper into strips

Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large pan and cook the chopped rashers in this until it browns.
Add the mince to the pan and then brown the mince in this, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon as you go, to make sure there are no lumps.
When it is well browned all over spoon out of the pan into a bowl.
Clean out the pan with a piece of kitchen paper and then put on the heat with the second tablespoon of olive oil.
Cook the onion and the pepper in this gently with a lid on for about 10 minutes until they are soft .

Add the browned mince,the tomato passata and the water or stock,the black olives, soy and vinegar to the pan and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and then taste and reseason if necessary.
Leave the sauce simmering gently on the heat for about 45 mts.
This improves the sauce a lot and is well worth doing.
The sauce can be cooked to this stage well ahead of time and chilled, or frozen for use at another time.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and boil the Tagliatelle until tender (usually about 12 mts)
Drain off the Tagliatelle and then either serve a bed of Tagliatelle with a pool of the sauce on top like we do here, or else, like the Italians mix the sauce and Tagliatelle together in a large pan and serve ready mixed.