dinner:

spaghetti bolognese

Published 8th June 2017

We love it, the kids love it, making for a very peaceful and compromise free meal… spaghetti bolognese, loved by everyone!

I would make this meal at least once a fortnight, sometimes more. To ensure it’s a well-balanced meal, I will always add in plenty of veggies – carrot, zucchini, mushroom, capsicum, onion, garlic, and of course, tomatoes, and most times, you can’t even tell that they’re there.

 
 
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Portion is the key for any pasta dish, making sure that 1/2 the plate is veggies or salad, 1/4 of the plate is protein and 1/4 of the plate is carbohydrate. Often with pasta dishes, veggies or salad aren’t necessarily incorporated as much as they should be. This is fine, because not everyone likes veggies hidden in their bolognese and really, who wants a carbonara loaded with vegetables, so to ensure your meal is balanced, try to have a side salad with it if the sauce is not conducive to veggies.

Bolognese is always better the day after it is made as the flavours will develop with time. Knowing this, spaghetti bolognese is usually a meal that we have on a workday. I can get home, put the water on to boil, heat up the sauce, spend some time with the kids and within 20 minutes, dinner is on the table without too much effort. It also freezes exceptionally well, so if there are leftovers, pop it into the freezer for next time, or freeze it in kid sized portions so they can have it if adults are going out or having a not so kid friendly meal.

Enjoy xx

 
 
 
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Ingredients:

Serves 5-6

  • 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

  • 500g lean beef mince

  • 1 onion, diced

  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1/2 long red chilli (optional), finely chopped

  • 1 carrot, grated

  • 1 zucchini, grated

  • 1/2 red capsicum, diced

  • 6-8 button mushrooms, chopped

  • 2/3 cup red wine

  • 2/3 cup tomato paste

  • 50g mild or hot salami, sliced

  • 2 x 400g tins of diced tomato

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • 450g spaghetti pasta

  • Grated parmesan cheese to serve

 

Method:

  1. Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, chilli, carrot, capsicum and zucchini and cook stirring for 5-6 minutes.

  2. Add mince and cook until browned, stirring to break up the lumps.

  3. Add red wine and tomato paste and allow it to reduce slightly, ~5 minutes.

  4. Add tomatoes, salami and mushrooms and ~1/2 a tin of water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a low simmer and cook until the liquid has evaporated, ~30+ minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

  5. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine. Remove from the heat.

  6. To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente.

  7. Once cooked, drain and divide between bowls, aiming for about 1 cup cooked per person, and top with bolognese sauce and grated parmesan cheese.