Plain Old Spag Wholemeal Style
Serves: 4
Time: 3 hours
I absolutely love a good spag bol. It’s old school I know but there is nothing wrong with a bit of comfort food now and again. Plus my son loves it and its a great dish for hiding vegetables in.
Leftovers
We always have plenty of left overs and sometimes (if it doesn’t get used for lunches) I like to freeze down baby portions of the meat.
What you'll need
1 small brown onion
4 cloves garlic
3 sprigs oregano (rosemary or thyme can also be used, or all 3)
1 cup red wine
500g free range beef mince (preferably not lean)
2 x 400g tins whole peeled tomatoes
1 carrot
1 zucchini
1 packet wholemeal spaghetti
1/2 bag of baby spinach and rocket mix
Flat leaf parsley for garnish
Perfect Parmesan
A good Parmesan cheese can be the hero of so many simple meals but a horrible Parmesan can destroy even the tastiest dinner. I recommend you buy a nice block of Parmesan cheese and keep it wrapped in paper in your fridge. It will last for ages and will taste a whole lot better than any of the pre cut processed options.
From the pantry
olive oil
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese
Option for Veggo’s
Pea Protein or vegetarian mince
Prep and Cook
Make Bol
Finely dice onion and garlic and very finely slice just the leaves of your oregano.
Combine all in a large hot pot with a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté stirring occasionally until soft.
While your onion mix is cooking…..
You can be browning your mince.
In a large hot fry pan with olive oil, begin to brown up half your mince, season it well and cook it until it’s almost crispy. The more colour you can get in your mince at this stage, the more developed the flavour will be.
When you’re happy with the colour, you can add this batch to your onion mix at any stage (this way there are less dishes)
Repeat with the second half of your mince.
Add Wine
Add the red wine to your onion mix and allow it to bubble till it’s reduced by at least half.
Add Tomatoes
Crush your whole peeled tomatoes as you add them to the pot making sure they are well broken down, then swill each can out with around 1/3 can of water and add this to your mix.
Add Beef
If you haven’t already done so, add your beef now, stir well to combine and bring the entire mix up to the boil. Reduce down to a simmer.
Check your seasoning and add more salt and pepper as required.
Add Veggies
Grate both the carrot and zucchini and add to your mix.
Cover with a lid. Stir occasionally for at least 2hrs. The longer you cook it out for, the richer the flavour.
When you first add your tomatoes, they will be quite a bright red. What we want as an end result is a lovely deep ruby red that has thickened up. The longer you can cook this out for the better, just make sure you aren’t on too high a heat.
Cook Pasta
Spaghetti is spaghetti. If you’re not confident cooking pasta then follow the exact instructions on your packet. Otherwise a large pot of water with a pinch of salt, drop in when boiling and cook to your preference.
Drain, splash over with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Plate it Pretty
To get that spun effect you can use a large carving fork to twirl the pasta around (if you have soft hands you might want to put a couple of pairs of kitchen gloves on to protect against the heat, as you will need to use your hands a little)
Top pasta with mince, a good sprinkling of fresh chopped parsley, a large handful of spinach and rocket mix, and loads of freshly grated Parmesan.
Enjoy!
We eat bolognaise a lot. I throw all kinds of things into my mix when I feel like a change. You can try broccoli, mushrooms, peppers and chilli. Don’t be afraid to empty any old bottom of the drawer items in.
Lunch tomorrow
Technically there should be enough left over for two lunches……but that does depend on whether or not you go back for seconds.