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Spaghetti Bolognese

4.9 from 8 reviews

A traditional Spaghetti Bolognese recipe which is rich, meaty and full of flavour. This traditional bolognese sauce requires slow cooking to develop the rich and meaty flavours, and uses fresh and good quality ingredients for an authentic taste. 

Ingredients

For the Spaghetti Bolognese

To serve

Instructions

  1. Finely chop the carrot, celery stick, brown onion and garlic cloves in a food processor.
  2. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat with some olive oil and butter.
  3. Cook the vegetable mixture for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
  4. Turn the heat up to high.
  5. Add the freshly ground beef and cook until well-browned.
  6. Add the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes.
  7. Add the tinned diced tomatoes, herbs and sugar. I add the sprigs of herbs whole and allow it to cook down in the sauce, and remove the stems at the end of the cooking time. During the cooking time, the leaves will have fallen off the oregano or marjoram sprigs, but the basil sprigs should be mostly intact.
  8. Season with salt and pepper.
  9. Cook over very low heat for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  10. As the sauce thickens, I tend to thin it with some boiling water.
  11. Taste for seasoning.
  12. Just before serving, stir through the chopped parsley.
  13. To serve, stir the cooked spaghetti through the sauce and cook for 1-2 minutes on the stove to allow the pasta to absorb some of the bolognese sauce.
  14. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.

Kitchen Notes

Once you have made the Bolognese Sauce, you can serve it with any pasta of your choice. The uses for Bolognese Sauce are endless. It’s lovely added to some béchamel sauce for a creamy pasta sauce, or you can go one step further and make a lasagne, substituting the tomato sauce for this Bolognese Sauce.

I also sometimes use leftover Bolognese Sauce as a base for a Cottage Pie, in which case I would add some mushrooms and frozen peas when reheating to make it a bit more substantial.

Nutritional information below is just for the Bolognese Sauce.

CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.

Nutrition