Spaghetti Bolognese
Often,in my home, I cook what the kids love or what hubby loves, rarely do I bother to cook what I love. Isn’t that what you do for the people you love?
Spaghetti Bolognese
My 17 year old loves Spaghetti Bolognese more than my 9-year-old but I try and cook at least one of their favourites in the week. I remember when I ate lamb, the days I cooked anything with lamb I was in heaven.
I miss it sometimes but it’s been almost 7 months since I’ve stopped eating red meat. I think I’ve done pretty well.
Giving up your favourite food isn’t easy but when it’s your health over your favourite food then I will do it over.
Although I dont’ eat it I can still remember the taste of all my favourite lamb dishes. If it had a tomato based sauce all the more reason to love it and this Spaghetti Bolognese is exactly one to love.
My kids love Italian food, you would swear they must have been Italian in their past lives as they love it more than they love Indian food, crazy but true.
I think I’ve done a great job and getting this dish to taste great, would have to get an Italian’s critic to know that for sure I guess. But if it was all eaten then I would say it was good.
This makes quite a lot of sauce so you can freeze some,if it’s too much for one meal, or you can freeze them in individual containers, perfect for the days when you don’t have time to cook.
I used lamb mince as do not eat beef or pork but feel free to use whatever mince you prefer.
How to cook the sauce
I think with most Italian sauces allowing it to simmer for a long time really does infuse the flavours.
If you do have the time I think you should allow your sauce to cook for as long you can. Even up to two hours, it makes all the difference.
Tomatoes
Although I used canned tomatoes you can use fresh tomatoes if you prefer. I sometimes use Roma tomatoes and I do find them less acidic.
Not authentically Italian
I know this is not cooked the authentic Italian way but for me it’s all about cooking a flavor packed dish. I added some chilli powder to this dish.
I know, I know it’s not something you add to a spaghetti bolognese so leave it out if it irks you that much.
There are many different variations to this recipe so feel free to adjust it according to your taste.
More Pasta dishes to try:
First Posted 4 September 2018 Updated
Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
- 500 gram lamb mince
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 bay leaf
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 x 410 grams canned diced tomatoes
- 1 tspn chilli powder
- 2 tspn dried italian herbs
- 1 tspn dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 mutton stock cube
- 1/4 cup fresh cream (optional)
- salt
- pepper
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
- parsley
- 500 gram spaghetti
Instructions
- Heat a large pan and cook the mince until it starts to brown a little
- Add the olive oil, onion, garlic and thyme. Saute until the onion is translucent
- Add the tomatoes, dried herbs, bay leaf, tomato puree, chilli powder, stock cube and pepper. Add more salt only if required as the stock may have enough salt. Bring to the boil, reduce and let it simmer for an hour to an hour and a half.
- Add about a cup of warm water if the sauce becomes too thick. This will also depend on how long you are cooking your sauce. You should have a rich, thick sauce. The longer the sauce is cooked the better
- If the sauce is too acidic add some sugar.
- When the sauce is almost cooked , add in your cream. Boil the spaghetti and mix into the sauce. Mix in half the parmesan cheese and use the remaining cheese to serve. Garnish with some parsley and serve
Notes
- If you do not have mutton stock cubes you can add some lamb stock
- We do not eat beef but feel free to use it if you do eat it and you can then use the beef stock cubes
- I prefer to cook my sauce longer but there are times when I am in a rush so I cook it for just 30 minutes
- Chilli powder is not something that's added to bolognese, that's my little addition to it. You can also add chilli flakes but I like a little kick and the chilli flakes just doesn't do it.
- My kids love the addition of the cream because they find the sauce to acidic, although I must admit adding a little sugar does sort that problem out too, especially if it is good quality tomatoes, as they're not as acidic
- I used to add carrots and celery to this recipe but my kids says it just ruins the sauce, I should rather give them veggies on the side. So much for hidden veggies. But you can add some if you prefer
- Always reserve some of that pasta water and add it when mixing the pasta and sauce, it really is liquid gold
