Postulant Cook Does … Spaghetti Bolognese
I know it is Sunday today and the weather outside is cold and windy and the standard repast for a Sunday dinner is Roasted something.
But today we went against the norm. We felt eating some good old spaghetti with lots of vegetables added to it.
So while Peter was out and about, I started our supper preparation. I cut, peeled, diced and crushed where necessary and gathered all the other ingredients for my bolognese from my store cupboard.
Ingredients:
375g spaghetti
300g minced beef
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled, quartered and chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
1 medium bell pepper (red, yellow or green)
1 Ragu Bolognese sauce (make your own by using 400g canned chopped tomatoes, 1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree, 1 tsp dried basil)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
6 medium size mushrooms, sliced
salt & Pepper
& Worcestershire sauce (secret ingredient)
Preparation:
Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the packet’s instruction; usually in plenty of salted water. I would usually add a teaspoon of cooking oil to the water to ensure that the pasta do not stick to one another.
While the pasta is boiling, in a separate sauce pan, heat the oil.
Add the minced beef and brown.
Stir in the garlic and onions. Cook until the onions have soften.
Add the carrots and celery; cover the pan to cook the vegetables.
Add the bolognese sauce or whichever you are using. Give it a good stir. Cover once more.
Add the bell pepper and mushroom.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Do not forget to add the cayenne pepper as well. At this point, I would add my secret ingredients,a good few drops of Worcestershire sauce to make a truly delicous and appetising bolognese.
Meanwhile drain the pasta. You can either arrange the pasta in the serving dish and then top with the cooked bolognese sauce or drop the cooked pasta into the simmering pasta sauce and stir thoroughly so that the spaghetti are entirely covered with the sauce. Actually the latter is my prepared method as can be seen from the photos above. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese if preferred.
Serve with salad or freshly baked garlic bread!
Enjoy!