Spaghetti Bolognese

I don't cook a lot of pasta , it's not so favourite around my house, but I was brought up with pasta. It was always a favourite for me, I was happy to eat pasta everyday . Pasta hasn't really got a big flavour to it. So you need a bit of ingredients to go with it and give a nice flavour , bulk it up and make interesting. You can cook it with pretty much anything. I think this traditional dish gives it all the flavors one can think of. I normally cook a big batch of it as it takes hours to cook. And freeze half of it , for another time. Just put a label and date on it and make sure you use it up within a month. Brilliant for when having a busy day , or maybe a lazy one ;)

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

500g of minced beef
2x tins of chopped tomatoes
2 onions
2 carrots
2 cloves of garlic
3 celery sticks
4 rashers of streaky bacon
1 tbsp tomato puree'
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Olive oil
Seasoning
100ml of warm beef stock
1 spring of thyme
1 bay leave
Worcester Sauce

For the Spaghetti

200g of pasta
Parmesan
20g of butter
Olive oil


Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : 1hour 30 minutes
Total Time: Nearly 2 hours
Serves :6
Level: Easy

Method

Chop all the vegetables.I normally grate my carrots. It makes it easier for the kids to eat, You know kids sometimes can be picky and if they don't now it's there , then they'll eat it. Heat some oil in a pan big enough, for all your ingredients. Put all your vegetables in the pan and leave to cook for 10 minutes on a low flame, you don't want to caramelize your onions. Put the bacon and the mince in and turn the heat up. Brown all over . Add a good splash of Worcester sauce, Or wine maybe if you prefer. If I'm honest in a dish like this I see it a waste adding wine. Cook well and reduce by half. Add all your herbs and spices. Give it a good stir and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, the puree', the stock and a pinch of sugar. Bring to a boil and leave to cook for an hour 30 minutes.

Boil the spaghetti and drain. In the same pan melt the butter with a little oil.Take off the heat. Add the spaghetti back to the pan and cote well with the butter. Sprinkle a little Parmesan . Serve your spaghetti with the bolognese sauce and more Parmesan.