This classic Bolognaise sauce that pretends to be Italian but really isn’t, is a great addition to your family cooking repertiore. I use 5% fat beef to make it healthy and slimming club friendly but any old beef will do. Omit the red wine if you are having to count points and things and you should have a “free food” meal. Bolognaise sauce is commonly served with spaghetti but it can be mixed with fusilli and baked covered in grated cheese. I also use it as a base for lasagne layering the meat sauce between sheets of pasta covered in a cheese sauce before baking in the oven for half an hour or so.
Ingredients
- 500g minced beef or quorn for a veggie version
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- Onion – finely diced
- 2 celery sticks finely chopped
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- Mixed herbs – a teaspoon or so
- Beef stock cobe
- Red wine (or white) 3 tablespoons or so to taste (optional)
- Worcestershire sauce – tablespoon or so to taste
Method
Place a large saucepan on a high heat and fry the beef and onions together until browned. You shouldn’t need any oil as the beef contains a bit of fat which will be enough to fry the onions nicely. After a few minutes, turn the heat to low and add the celery, carrots and garlic and fry for a couple more minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce, add half a can of water, mix well and cover with a lid. Simmer on a low heat for at least half an hour stirring occasionally and adding a bit more water if it looks dry. If you want the bologanise more saucy, add some passata as this will give you a really tomato flavour and a runnier texture. Taste for flavour and don’t be afraid to add more wine or worcestershire sauce to your preference. Season with salt and pepper too if you like.
In the meantime, boil some water for pasta and cook according to instructions. Combine to serve. I will do a recipe for lasagne as requested by one of my kids shortly.
This bolognaise can be cooked in the slow cooker. Fry off the meat and onions then add this and all the ingredients to the slow cooke without the additional half can of water. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. The texture will be softer than the stove top sauce but equally tasty.
If you like this bolognaise sauce recipe, you might like pomodoro sauce done in the slow cooker. Here is the link: