Spaghetti Bolognese

It's January. It's miserable, rainy, dark and cold. I'm already dreaming of spring and warmer weather and being able to spend time outside, which is a particularly appealing notion when the wind is howling like it is tonight. On nights like this, I just want to cuddle up on the sofa with my dogs and husband and some blankets, eat something delicious and satisfying and watch something light hearted on the TV (Great British Allotment Challenge is on tonight, which I love! Plus I have two other gardening programmes saved to watch, so Adam is in for a fun night ha).

My all time favourite food is probably pasta, and I love this version in winter. I'm not sure if it's authentic (sorry Italy!) and I know everyone probably already has their own go-to version of spaghetti bolognese, but I thought I'd share mine anyway in case you fancied a change!



Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves four | Syn free

Ingredients:

500g extra lean minced beef (minced turkey works particularly well, too)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
3 chopped garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrot, finely grated
1 stick celery, chopped
3-5 mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano, or half teaspoon dried
Salt and pepper to taste
400g dried spaghetti
2 big handfuls washed spinach

method:

Prepare onion, garlic, carrot, celery and mushrooms

Brown mince in a pan over a medium heat until cooked, then drain any excess fat

Add in prepared onion and garlic, and continue to fry for a minute or two until onions turn translucent

Add in rest of ingredients (apart from pasta and spinach) and stir well

This next step is what I think makes this recipe so lovely:

Cover the pan, place on a medium to small ring and turn the heat down low. Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes in total

After bolognese sauce has been simmering for about 25 minutes, put the kettle on to boil for the pasta

Cook the pasta for about 8 minutes so it's cooked but still has a slight bite in the middle

I serve mine by mixing the spaghetti and bolognese and adding two big handfuls of spinach. The spinach wilts down in the heat of the sauce and pasta, or alternatively you could serve it without spinach or put the pasta on the plate first and then top with the bolognese