Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

Easy Spaghetti Bolognese

One of the few dinners that always mean clean plates in our house is Spaghetti Bolognese. It passes the fussy child test and is a favourite of the other one. I make it from scratch and it is extremely versatile and super-easy to make. It is very quick to throw together, and it is my favourite comfort food. I usually double the recipe and make some to put the freezer. 

You will need:

• 450g/1lb minced beef
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon of tomato purée
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 carrot
• 1 red pepper
• 100g mushrooms
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 stock cube/stock pot
• 1 teasp olive oil
• Handful of fresh basil

Steps:

1. Peel and chop onion and garlic finely.
2. Wash and chop your vegetables, small is best if you are trying to get little people to eat them. And they should roughly be the same size as each other. All the vegetables are optional, so put in as many or as few as you like or have in the fridge.
3. Heat up a medium saucepan and spray or pour about 1 teaspoon of oil in the base. Fry off the garlic and onion for 1-2 minutes and then add the minced beef. Brown the beef, add a tiny bit of water if it starts to stick.
4. When mince is completely browned add the tin of tomatoes, a squirt of tomato purée and the stock cube.
5. Add in all the vegetables and bring to the boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes minimum, up to an hour if you can.
6. Wash and tear the basil and throw on top.
7. Serve on spaghetti or your child’s favourite pasta shape.