Build the aromatic base: Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery, and carrot. Stir them gently, and listen for a soft, quiet sizzle. Cook for 8–10 minutes until the vegetables have softened and the onion turns translucent. You'll notice a sweet, fragrant smell beginning to fill your kitchen. The carrots should yield slightly when pressed with a wooden spoon.

Bloom the garlic: Add the minced garlic to the pan and stir for one minute. The scent will become more pungent and aromatic. Be careful not to let it colour, as burnt garlic turns bitter.

Brown the beef in batches: Increase the heat to medium-high. Add half of the beef mince, breaking it up with your spoon. Don't overcrowd the pan; you want to hear a vigorous sear, not a steam. Cook until the meat is a deep, mahogany brown, not just grey. The smell at this stage is intensely savoury. Transfer the first batch to a plate and repeat with the remaining mince.

Stir in the tomato purée: Return all the browned beef to the pan. Add the tomato purée and stir constantly for 2 minutes. It will darken slightly and stick a little to the bottom of the pan, releasing a rich, concentrated tomato aroma. This step removes any raw, tinny taste.

Deglaze and combine: Pour in the beef stock, using your wooden spoon to scrape up all the delicious, browned bits from the bottom of the pan. These are packed with flavour. Add the tinned tomatoes, dried oregano, dried thyme, and the bay leaf. Stir everything together. You should see a thick, meaty sauce with a vibrant red colour.

The slow simmer: Bring the sauce to a gentle bubble, then immediately reduce the heat to low. You want the surface to be lazily burping, not boiling vigorously. Partially cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes. Stir it every 15–20 minutes. The sauce will visibly thicken and deepen in colour to a richer, darker red. The aroma will become layered and complex. Taste it after an hour and adjust salt and pepper.

Cook the rigatoni: About 10 minutes before the sauce is ready, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the rigatoni and cook according to the packet instructions until al dente. The pasta should offer a slight resistance when you bite into it. Reserve a mug of the starchy pasta water before draining.

Marry the pasta and sauce: Drain the rigatoni and add it directly to the pan of Bolognese sauce. Toss everything together over a low heat. If the sauce looks a little thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water. The starchy water helps the sauce cling to every ridge of the pasta. Serve immediately.