Oh right. No, just the ragù and pasta. I grated a bit of parmesan over the top after taking the photo but that was it.

Not sure what you're asking here? A ragù is a type of Italian sauce made from meat. There are regional variations like Napolitana and Genovese, but this is the Bolognese version. There's a brand of jarred sauces sold with the name Ragu, but this wasn't that.

I really enjoyed both dishes, but if I'm honest, I think the ragù is the one I'd choose most of the time. The simplicity and clarity of flavour. The taste of fresh pasta and the way the sauce clings to it. This was a bowl of food that I'll remember for a long time.

I have liked your comment, but I want to be very clear that my like does not, in this situation, constitute an endorsement of this deeply disturbing behaviour!

I wanted to make this authentically English, so we have a mix of minced beef and Cumberland sausage, plenty of grated carrot, a sauce flavoured with a ton of oregano plus marmite and Worcestershire sauce, and a topping of cheddar cheese. It definitely ain't Italian, but it's lovely in its own way.

For me at least, it's difficult to cook food from a deeply isolationist regime without it feeling like a bit of a stunt. How do you find authenticity in a culture that can seem so deeply propagandised from every direction? I'm not sure I have a satisfying or definitive answer to that, but I tried.

I want to cook food from everywhere! But I want it to be authentic and approached with care and respect much more than I want to tick off every country on my list. I really don't want to do stunt food. So North Korea represents a bit of a problem for me.

Finding a recipe written by someone sharing their culture and trying my best to get it as right as possible given the inevitable compromises, limits of ingredients, and (often) skill can feel like a digital version of that same impulse.

I had some thoughts and feelings around selecting and making this dish. I like cooking foods from around the world because I really enjoy exploring culture from that perspective. I think food is universalizing in that way and the act of sharing food is widely understood as an act of community.

It wasn't good honey, though, so it was probably closer to golden syrup than anything a bee has ever touched.

I did a little research on this! It's a specifically Scandi thing made from sugar beet. There's a good article on it here. www.thespruceeats.com/light-and-da... Personally, I just sub'd honey because it was what I had to hand, but I'd be interested to know how much difference the real thing makes.

I will note that the recipe estimates that you can cook this in 35 minutes. I found that wildly optimistic, but I did spend some time failing to make the egg garnish (which turns out to be quite difficult!). I really loved this, so it was definitely worth the time and effort, but it wasn't quick!