Best Bolognese Sauce
Everyone should have a great bolognese sauce as part of their repertoire. I mean, who doesn’t love spaghetti bolognese .. or a simple pasta bake?
My bolognese sauce is simple and very verstatile. Not only do I use it with pasta, I also use it for lasagne, chilli con carne and pasta bakes. The great thing about this bolognese sauce is that it freezes really well. I usually make a big batch for meal time and the leftovers I freeze in batches. They defrost quicky and are great for quick lunches. My kids sometimes have pasta and bolognese sauce for their school packed lunch. I just heat it up in the morning, put it in a Thermos and by lunchtime they have a nutritious and delicious school lunch. It beats a bland school lunch any day of the week.
Firstly, get your ingredients ready …
In a large pan, fry the beef mince until browned. Transfer the mince to a plate and set aside for a few minutes.
In the same pan, brown the onions, garlic, ginger, carrots and bay leaves. Slice the mushrooms and add these to the pan. Cook the ingredients until the onions have browned and softened. Put the mince back in the pan and mix well.
Make a well in the middle of the meat mixture and add the wine. On a medium heat, cook the wine until it reduces by half. Add the paprika, tomato puree, sriracha sauce, mixed herbs and brown sugar. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Add the passata and about 100ml of water and give it a mix. Bring the bolognese sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Place the lid on the pan and simmer for at least half an hour. I like to simmer it for an hour to get the full flavour of the ingredients.
Serve straight away or cool it down completely and portion the sauce into freezer bags and keep them in the freezer until you need it. Great for packed lunches or quick meals when life gets a bit too hectic.
See below for the printable recipe.
Hope you enjoy it!
Best Bolognese Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
– 500g beef mince
– 600ml tomato passata
– 1 large carrot (diced)
– 1 onion (diced)
– 2 bay leaves
– 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
– 2 thin slices of fresh ginger
– 2 tbsp paprika
– 2 tbsp tomato puree
– 2 tsp sriracha sauce
– 1 tbsp mixed herbs (or handful of fresh basil)
– 6 large mushrooms
– 1 tbsp brown sugar
– 300ml red wine (optional)
– Salt and black pepper (to taste)
METHOD:
1. Brown minced beef in a pan until browned. Transfer to a plate, then in the same pan fry the onions, garlic, carrots, ginger, mushrooms and bay leaves for a few minutes until onion have softened and browned.
2. Put the minced beef back into the pan with the onion mixture. Mix well.
3. Make a well in the middle of the meat mixture and add the wine. On a medium heat, cook the wine until it reduces by half. Add the paprika, tomato puree, sriracha sauce, mixed herbs (or some fresh herbs work even better such as basil) and brown sugar. Mix well.
4. Add the passata and season well with salt and pepper. Bring the bolognese sauce to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Place the lid on the pan and simmer for about half an hour to an hour.
5. Serve straight away or cool it down completely and portion the sauce into freezer bags and keep in the freezer until you need it.
Enjoy!
How simple was that? Simple and nutritious meal for the whole family. You can jazz up this bolognese with other vegetables. You can use turkey or chicken mince too – they work really well. Experiment to your hearts content! Let me know how you get on.
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Much love to you all!
~ The Cake Lady xx
