Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti bolognese is a pasta dish consisting of spaghetti served with a sauce made from tomatoes and ground beef. The sauce is a meat-based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy, hence the name and is commonly referred to as bolognese sauce or just spaghetti sauce.  It is often served with a much larger proportion of sauce to spaghetti than is common in Italian spaghetti dishes, and the sauce is often laid on top of the spaghetti with grated parmesan on top.

It's the world's favourite Italian dish - except it doesn't actually exist in Italy. It bears no resemblance to the traditional Italian ragù alla bolognese which should be served with tagliatelle or any flat pasta. A proper ragu sauce is meat, onions, wine, a little tomato paste and vegetables without garlic nor a single herb. Here I will show you my simplified version which I have been cooking for many years.

Ingredients 

Minced beef

1 carrot

1 green bell pepper

1 medium sized yellow onion

A knob of butter

1 large can peeled tomato

1 small can tomato paste

Finely dice the pepper and carrot

Finely dice the onion

Cooking the sauce

Melt the butter with a little olive oil

Add the onion

Fry the onion until translucent and add some chopped garlic

Put in the minced beef and stir until it is browned

Put in ½ of the tomato paste and mix thoroughly

Put in the canned peeled tomatoes

Put some hot water into the can and add to the sauce

Put in a couple bay leaves and a sprinkle of mixed herbs

Add the diced vegetables and mix thoroughly

Cover and simmer on low fire for 1 hour

Stir occasionally to make sure that it is cooked evenly

Add more water if necessary

The sauce is ready

Cooking the spaghetti

See the hole in the ladle?

Use the hole in the ladle to measure the amount of spaghetti per person

Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente

Drain and mix with a little olive oil to prevent the spaghetti sticking together

Put some spaghetti onto a plate and add the sauce on top

Serve with parmesan cheese

Alternatively, you can mix the sauce into the spaghetti before serving

Eating the spaghetti bolognese (this is just for fun)

Mix the sauce into the spaghetti

Pick up the spaghetti with the fork and twirl it on the spoon

Pop into the mouth

Yay!! I got the approval sign

The 2 girls decided to make sloppy joe with the leftover bolognese sauce

Cut the burger bun into 2 pieces

Butter the buns

Put some sauce on the bun

Put a slice of cheddar cheese on the sauce and add more sauce on it

Now put a slice of mozzarella cheese on top

Top up with more sauce

Cover with the other half of the bun and pop into the microwave oven for 1 minute

This is what it looks like

You are supposed to pick it up and eat it like a burger

However, the bun was too soft and hot for Amelie

Fork and knife to the rescue

Got it!!!

Ouch! That was so hot

Oh yes, what to do with the remaining tomato paste?

Put the paste into a small plastic bag and flatten it

Fold the plastic over and put into the freezer for future use