Spaghetti Bolognese
Serves: 4 to 6
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 Bolognese Sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 500 g (1 lb) minced beef, (ground beef)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 1 celery stick
- 1 brown onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1.6 kg (3 ½ lb) canned diced tomatoes
- 4-5 sprigs fresh oregano, or marjoram
- 2 sprigs basil
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
- sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, freshly cracked
To Serve
- dried spaghetti, about 100 g (3.5 oz) per person
- fresh parsley, finely chopped
- fresh oregano, or marjoram, finely chopped
- basil, finely chopped
- parmesan, finely grated
Instructions
To Make the Bolognese Sauce
- Heat the oil in a large cast-iron pan or saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the beef and cook until well-browned. If you are using a small pan, or you are doubling or tripling the recipe, you will need to cook the beef in batches.
- I recommend spreading the meat to cover the bottom of the pan (like a large hamburger patty), and leaving it to cook for a few minutes until it is golden and caramelised on the bottom. Once the meat is nicely browned, use a wooden spoon to turn the meat over and break it up into finely ground meat.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked beef to a large bowl.
- Finely chop the carrot, celery stick, brown onion and garlic cloves in a food processor.
- Turn the stove down to medium heat.
- Add the butter, and some more olive oil if needed.
- Cook the vegetable mixture with about 1 teaspoon of sea salt for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes.
- Add the canned 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.
- Add the browned meat to the sauce.
- Give the sauce a good mix.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cook over very low heat with the lid on for about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. The sauce should just be gently bubbling.
- Remove the lid and cook the sauce over medium heat for about 30 minutes to allow the sauce to evaporate and thicken.
- Taste for seasoning.
- Just before serving, stir through the chopped parsley.
To Cook the Pasta
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
- Add 1 teaspoon of fine salt.
- Cook the spaghetti for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions.
- Do NOT drain the pasta.
- Reserve the pasta cooking water for the next step.
To Serve
- Heat the Bolognese Sauce in a large saucepan. You will need approximately 250 ml/1 cup of sauce per person.
- Use a pair of tongs to transfer the spaghetti directly from the pot of boiling water to the pan with the Bolognese Sauce.
- Stir the mixture so that the pasta is evenly coated.
- If the pasta sauce is too thick, add enough pasta boiling water to the sauce to get a nice consistency.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh herbs.
Kitchen Notes
- INSTRUCTIONS FOR SLOW COOKER
* Follow the same instructions as for the stove top.
* Cook on low (95°C/203°F) for 4-5 hours or high (105°C/221°F) for 3-4 hours. - INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE OVEN
* Follow the same instructions as for the stove top, but make sure you use an oven-proof pan and lid, such as a cast-iron pan.
* Place the pan with the lid in the oven at 160°C/320°F, and cook for 2 hours.
* After this time, finish cooking the sauce on the stove for about 15-20 minutes on medium heat, without the lid so that the sauce can thicken. - RECIPES USING BOLOGNESE SAUCE
* Cottage Pie: add some peas to the sauce, and top with mashed potatoes before baking.
* Meat Lasagne: use this Bolognese Sauce in place of a simple Tomato Sauce. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.