A delicious, classic dish and so easy to knock together
Enjoy this tasty rich Spaghetti Bolognese for a midweek meal or as a crowd-pleasing dish at the weekend.
- SERVES: 4
- PREP TIME: 10 mins
- COOK TIME: 45 mins
- DIFFICULTY: easy
- IDEAL FOR: family, midweek meal, crowd-pleaser
Tasty rich Spaghetti Bolognese
I love a good Spag. Bol.
And this recipe inspired by Jamie Oliver hits the spot with its rich, warming flavours.
It’s no wonder, Spag. Bol. is one of the most popular dishes in the UK.
But if you thought this was also a classic Italian dish, you’d be wrong.
Although it does have some beginnings and a transformation from a dish in Bologna.
Ragù alla Bolognese
Ragù alla bolognese uses tagliatelle instead (not spaghettii) and a rich ragù (often veal) is the base sauce.
This awesome ragù is cooked for many hours over low heat.
Bolognese ragù starts with a sofrito – carrots, celery, and onions.
Then large chunks of beef or veal are browned and seared, then added to the sofrito.
Wine is added then everything is left to simmer for hours until the meat starts to fall apart.
Nothing beats a homemade ragù but we don’t always have time.
This recipe will give you beautiful rich flavours in less time.
Below are some extra ideas you can use (not necessarily adding them all at once) to tweak your recipe from time to time.
Sundried tomatoes
Sundried tomatoes are always a good thing to keep in your cupboard to shizz things up.
They’re fantastic to add a real depth of flavour to your Bolognese, especially if you don’t have time to simmer for ages.
Just chop them up and throw them in and let them work their magic.
Wine
This should be one of the main ingredients of your sauce so don’t leave it out.
The acidity of wine works well with all of the ingredients and balances out the flavours.
Sugar
Sometimes savoury sauces need a tiny amount of sugar.
Especially if your tomatoes aren’t sweet enough, the sugar can give them a little lift.
It’s all about tasting and adjusting.
References:
Recipe: Jamie Oliver
Spaghetti Bolognese
Ingredients
- 500 g minced beef
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- 6 rashes, smoked bacon (high welfare), cut into small pieces
- 2 sprigs of rosemary
- 1 onion, chopped
- olive oil
- a handful of dried tomatoes, chopped optional
- 200 ml red wine
- 2 x 400 g tinned plum tomatoes
- 500 g dried spaghetti
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Finely chop the garlic and onions, chop the rosemary, then finely slice the bacon.
- In a deep frying pan on medium heat, heat a splash of oil and add the bacon, rosemary, garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the minced beef and break it up using a wooden spoon and cook for approx 3 minutes. Add the red wine, and chopped dried tomatoes (optional) and leave it to bubble. Add the tinned plum tomatoes and break them up with a wooden spoon.
- Cover with a lid then place and cook on low for 1 hour, removing the lid and giving it a stir after 30 minutes – if it looks a little dry, add a splash of water.
- About 10 minutes before the time is up, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
- Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and toss to coat the spaghetti, loosening with a splash of the cooking water, if needed.
- Serve with a fine grating of Parmesan.
Notes
