for dinner is always a good idea, and thankfully there are endless options out there when it comes to sauces. However, one that truly hits the spot time and time again is a delicious bolognese.

Hailing from the Bologna region of , this meaty pasta dish is hard to beat - especially when served with garlic bread. Like all recipes, there's a very traditional way to it, but over the years, it has been adapted many times with different ingredients added. And there's one thing that can 'transform' your favourite pasta dish if you add it to the sauce.

Matt Preston, judge on Masterchef Australia, says all you need to level up your spaghetti bolognese is a little squeeze of lemon juice.

Although this is not something that's in the traditional recipe, this fresh citrus fruit can work wonders when it comes to the taste of your bolognese. Speaking to Taste, he said: "I love to add both a squeeze of lemon and a piece of pith-less lemon peel to my spaghetti bolognese.

"The juice adds acidity which helps the tomatoes and the pith add a little fragrance which will help lift the bolognese."

Here's the weird yet wonderful recipe that you can try for yourself at home.

Ingredients

• One lemon
• 40g butter
• Two tbsp olive oil
• Four rindless middle bacon rashers, finely chopped
• Three brown onions, finely chopped
• Two carrots, peeled, finely chopped
• Two celery stalks, trimmed, finely chopped
• One tsp brown sugar
• Four garlic cloves, crushed
• 70g tomato paste
• 1kg beef mince
• 500ml red wine
• Two x 400g cans diced tomatoes
• 500ml beef stock
• 6cm piece parmesan rind
• Two tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Three fresh bay leaves

Method

Peel a 4cm piece of rind from the lemon, squeeze the juice from it and set aside.

Then, heat the butter and half the oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon, onion and carrot and celery and cook for around five minutes.

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and sugar. Cook for another three minutes and then transfer to a large bowl.

Heat the remaining oil in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the mince and press flat with the back of a spoon but don't break it up. Brown for seven minutes, then flip and do the same on the other side before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Then put it in the same bowl as the vegetables.

Turn the heat up and add the wine, simmering for five minutes until reduced by half. Put the mince and vegetables back in, add the tomato and stock, then cover and bring to the boil. Take the lid off, turn the heat right down and add the parmesan rind, Worcestershire, bay leaves, lemon rind and half the juice. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for four hours or until the sauce is a glossy dark red. Season with salt and remaining lemon juice, then discard the parmesan rinds and bay leaves.

Divide the pasta and bolognaise among serving bowls and top with grated parmesan to serve.