Spaghetti alla Bolognese

I had a craving for comfort food tonight, so I went with an old favourite, Spaghetti alla Bolognese.

I have seen people serve up some dreadful things and calling it Bolognese.

I am not saying mine is by any means the best around, or true to Italian tradition, but it beats grey lifeless mince with ketchup served on overcooked pasta any day!

I think the key is in the vegetables and of course as with any pasta dish, not overcooking the pasta.  Anywhoo, lets get on with it!

Spaghetti alla Bolognese

You will need:

• 1 pack of spaghetti
• 1 beef stock cube
• 2 red onions
• 2 medium sized carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 125 gm diced bacon
• 250 gm beef mince
• 1 can diced whole tomatoes
• 50 gm (two tablespoons) tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
• handful of parsley
• olive oil
• a ciabatta (optional)
• parmigiano reggiano (parmesan)

Putting it all together:

First off some prep work, it just makes it easier.  Dice up your vegetables and garlic and parsley, till you end up with something like this.  Also, get a large pot of water started on the stove, add a good few pinches of salt and a dash of olive oil.

In a large pan, fry the onions, carrots, celery and garlic for a couple of minutes in some olive oil, season with salt and black pepper. Once the onions start going soft, chuck this mixture in a bowl and set aside for now.

In the same pan, fry up the bacon and mince until brown.

Add the can of diced tomatoes

Dissolve the stock cube in a mug of boiling water and pour it in, along with the tomato paste and a dash or two of worcestershire sauce.  Add your chopped parsley and mix well

You can now turn the heat down and let this mix simmer, the longer it simmers the better.

Right onwards…

Slice up the ciabatta and place in a oven pan, drizzle some olive oil over, sprinkle with some garlic & herb spice (or real fresh garlic and herbs if you are up to it) and put under the grill of the oven. Keep an eye on it, things burn easily under a grill.

You can now add the pasta to the pot of boiling water.  DO NOT OVERCOOK THE PASTA Taste a strand every minute or so, if you can bite through it without encountering a hard-ish white floury bit, its done!

Strain the pasta and thats it, ready to serve!  Serve it with a generous helping of freshly grated parmesan and garnish with more fresh parsley.  Enjoy!