BOLOGNAISE SAUCE

Follow this recipe and you’ll never to have to buy a jar of pasta sauce again!

I often spend a wet Sunday afternoon making a huge pot of this for freezing. It’s a great stand-by for the day when you haven’t the time or the inclination to cook..

EQUIPMENT:                                                           

• A fairly large saucepan
• Sharp knife
• Chopping board
• Grater for the Parmesan if using

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 500g  Beef mince (see NOTES for vegetarian option)
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• one small mild green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped – or a small sprinkle of dried Chilli flakes
• One heaped dessertspoon of dried oregano/Italian herbs/ fresh basil – whatever you have.
• A beef stock cube – optional
• 1/2 a glass of red wine
• A tin of chopped tomatoes (I also throw in a few fresh, deseeded, chopped tomatoes if I have them)
• A jar of passata, or another tin of tomatoes.
• A dessertspoon of sun dried tomato paste
• Salt and pepper
• A drizzle of  oil

METHOD:

• Put the saucepan onto a medium-high heat, drizzle in the oil then add the onions and chilli. Immediately add half a cup of water, cover the pan and reduce the heat. Allow the onions to sweat and cook, but not brown.
• Add the minced beef, Break up the minced beef and stir it around until it starts to  brown. Keep it moving all the time.
• Crumble in the stock cube now.
• Add the wine, let it reduce down a little
• Add the garlic and herbs and stir in. Reduce the heat to medium
• Add the tin(s) of tomatoes, the passata, and the sun-dried tomato paste

• Mix well, and adjust the seasoning.
• Pop on the lid of the saucepan, reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer, and leave there for as long as you like. Check on it occasionally, to make sure that it’s barely moving and not sticking.
• Bring to simmering point, then turn down the heat and allow it to sit there for as long as possible before using.

TO SERVE: Like most sauces, this will taste better tomorrow, but will certainly make a delicious  dinner now!

• Spaghetti, or your favourite pasta, cooked al dente.
• few torn Basil leaves if you have them as a garnish
• Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

NOTES:

• Low fat mince is not as good as say, 10% mince, as the fat helps to thicken the sauce, and adds flavour. However, if you’re watching the calories, it works perfectly well.
• If you’d like to make this Vegetarian, use Quorn Mince, and use a vegetable Stock cube instead of the beef one. Honestly, no one has ever even realised if I’ve used Quorn!
• If you have time, leave the pot to simmer on as low a heat as you can manage, then switch it off, and allow to sit overnight.
• This sauce is ideal for Spaghetti Bolognaise or as the meat sauce in lasagne, or as fillings for cannelloni etc. When I’m making lasagne I just make the sauce a little thicker, so that it’s not too runny. Just let it simmer for a while with the lid off..
• The chilli is not there to add heat, but to give a depth to the sauce – try it and see how you like it!
• If it really is a rainy Sunday, feel free to double this recipe and divide it amongst some freezer containers. Don’t underestimate the pure joy of being able to pull this out of the freezer on a busy or stressful day!