Spaghetti Bolognese
There are hundreds of variations of Spaghetti Bolognese recipes, but this is mine. This Bolognese can be cooked in an hour, if you have more time of course leave it simmering low and slow for several hours and just add more tomatoes or stock but I know we donโt always have three hours to cook up the perfect ragu.
Iโve added mushrooms as an optional ingredient, theyโre not traditional perhaps but then nor is spaghetti! Ragus are often served with Tagliatelle or Fettucine but we mostly know this classic with spaghetti. Iโm sure many of you have family recipes and happy memories of this being cooked at home, itโs a week night staple and is perfect for batch cooking or leftovers (check out my other recipe ideas for leftover bolognese).
You can also add pancetta at the start of the ragu if you want to add an extra layer of flavour.
I shared this recipe in my Cook Along with Garofalo, where we used their spaghetti and tinned tomatoes for the recipe.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
- 400g Garofalo Spaghetti (75 - 100g per person)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, sliced or pressed
- 500g of minced beef / mince alternative
- 600g of plum/chopped tomatoes plus additional tin or stock
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- Handful of mushrooms (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- Mixed Italian Herbs / Oregano
- Red wine
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
- Parmesan (if you have a rind of used parmesan keep it as weโll use this too!)
- Fresh basil 10 leaves
Instructions
- Add 2 tbsps of olive oil to your pan on a low heat. Add your onion, celery and carrot to the pan and season with a little salt and add 1tsp of your dried herbs.
- Cover loosely with a lid to allow the soffritto (the mix of onion, celery and carrot) to cook, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesnโt burn or stick to the pan. Cook for about ten minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for a further minute before adding the mince. If youโre adding mushrooms add these too.
- Increase to a medium heat and stir in 1 tbsp of tomato puree.
- Add a glass of wine and allow to simmer with the mince.
- Add 400g of tinned tomatoes, bay leaf and season with pepper. Initially and allow to gently simmer with the lid off.
- After about 15 minutes you can top up with the remaining 200g of tomatoes or add 100ml of beef stock.
- Continue to let the ragรน simmer for another 30 minutes. If it looks a little dry at any point add more tomatoes or stock.
- If you have a leftover parmesan rind I recommend adding this now. It will help the sauce become a nice rich, thick consistency.
- Prepare a saucepan of boiling water, salt it once boiling and when you're ready add your Garofalo Spaghetti and cook for 10 minutes.
- I recommend turning the heat off your bolognese 5 minutes before your pasta is ready to allow it to rest before serving. If you have them stir in torn, fresh basil leaves.
- If you're saving some sauce for leftovers split this out first, then add your spaghetti straight to the pan with a splash of pasta water, using tongs or a spoon coat the pasta in the sauce and serve with extra on top and a good grating of parmesan!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
777.24Fat (grams)
31.81Sat. Fat (grams)
10.90Carbs (grams)
61.86Fibre (grams)
9.21Net carbs
52.64Sugar (grams)
17.61Protein (grams)
53.69Sodium (milligrams)
315.50Cholesterol (grams)
137.56Values per whole meal
An easy recipe using casarecce pasta, combining the sweetness and freshness of cherry tomatoes, the heat of chilli and balanced with tangy feta and basil