Pasta is a regular feature in our house and it’s not often that a week goes by without this rich and delicious bolognese recipe. It’s worth making extra and creating different meals for the week out of the sauce. By adding a can of kidney beans, a red pepper, some mild chilli powder and a red chilli you can have chilli con carne a day later. Mash up some potato, grate some cheese and then you can make Cottage pie. Lasagne is an obvious one, but make (or buy) a bechamel sauce and some lasagne sheets, layer up the lasagne and freeze it for a rainy day. A ‘Sloppy Joe’ or some burritos, the list goes on. In my opinion it’s definitely worth making a batch of Bolognese every two weeks.⠀ Here’s my Mums recipe and in my opinion it’s the best 😊 Serves 4-6⠀
INGREDIENTS⠀ 400g lean mince beef⠀⠀ 300g chestnut mushrooms chopped ⠀⠀ 4 red onions finely chopped ⠀⠀ 5 cloves crushed garlic ⠀⠀ 1 tin tomatoes ⠀⠀ 1 glass red wine ⠀ 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I love Belazu’s)⠀⠀ 1 tablespoon tomato purée ⠀⠀ Optional ⠀⠀ 1 carrot grated ⠀⠀ 2 stalks celery finely chopped⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ METHOD⠀ Sauté the onions in olive oil, slowly on a low heat for approximately 30 minutes until caramelised, but not burnt. This is worth doing as really adds flavour to the finished sauce.⠀
Add the garlic for 2 minutes. Now add the beef, season and turn the heat up slightly. Break up the meat until brown and there are no lumps. Pour in the wine and balsamic and let the alcohol evaporate. Now add the mushrooms, carrot, celery, tomatoes and purée. Season and taste. Simmer on a low heat for 2 hours. ⠀⠀ If you think it’s too thin remove the lid to thicken.⠀⠀
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