There is not one person who I know that does not like spaghetti bolognese. Everyone has their own take on it but one thing that remains constant is that it is a regular in most households. It's a great combination of pasta, vegetables and meat. So, when serving it up to your family, you know they are eating a hearty, healthy, tasty meal especially when it comes to feeding the fussiest of toddlers!
It is also very versatile; the following recipe doubles as the sauce if you're going to make a lasagne (in Hermie) and when you make the full amount, there's enough for a family lasagne and a serve of bolognese as is. Who doesn't like 2 meals for the effort of 1? Enjoy xx
1 carrot (~120 grams), roughly chopped
1 zucchini, roughly chopped
1 brown onion, peeled & halved
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 celery stick, roughly chopped (optional)
50 grams olive oil
500 grams beef mince, slightly frozen in 4cm pieces
5 medium size mushrooms, sliced
3 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon TM vegetable stock concentrate (from the EDC)
salt to taste
50 grams tomato paste
800 grams chopped tomatoes (1 large tin)
1. Place carrot, zucchini, onion, garlic (& celery) into TM bowl and chop 3secs/ speed5. I find this still provides texture and the vegetables are not too fine. Scrape down sides of bowl.
2. Add olive oil and cook 5mins/ varoma/ reverse/ speed1. Scrape down sides of bowl.
3. Add mince to TM bowl. Cook 5mins/ varoma/ reverse/ speed1. Scrape down sides.
4. If using mushrooms, add them to the TM bowl. Also add bay leaves, TM stock, salt, tomato paste, and tomatoes to TM bowl. This will bring the contents near the 'max' mark on the bowl. Give the sauce a quick manual stir with the spatula and cook 15mins/ 100C/ reverse/ stir speed.
5. Check the sauce and manually stir through again. Cook for a further 25mins/ 90C/ reverse/ stir speed.
6. Serve with pasta and grated parmesan cheese.
Makes ~1.6L of sauce
Bon Appetit xx
Notes: slightly frozen mince is used as it takes longer to break down and therefore, the bolognese sauce still has the texture to it when fully cooked.
If you follow me on facebook you would know that I'm a big fan of meal planning. This is so that I know what we're eating during the week as well as spending the least amount of time shopping for food during the week. It also means that if I'm buy a special ingredient, I try and make other meals that will incorporate the rest of the ingredient so there's less wastage.
Having said all of that, this week I have done the complete opposite and have lived 'by the seat of my pants' without planning any nights meals. It has just gotten away from me whilst juggling a sick Miss A, consultant training to become a Thermomix Consultant, blogging, driving Miss I around to activities and everyday chores around the home.
Last night, it had already reached 4pm by the time I even thought about what to have for dinner. That's pretty late for us as we usually have dinner by 5:30 to 5:45ish. Yes, we eat at an early bird time but it works for our family! So, I scratched my head and looked in the freezer to see what meats/seafood we had. I usually start with this for the basis of a dish and then the rest comes naturally. I came across some recently bought prawns and then half a packet of baby spinach that I had been using to practice some Thermomix demonstration dishes. As soon as I had these 2 ingredients, this dinner was formed in my head. All the other ingredients are pantry staples that are always on hand for most cuisines.
The sauce is whipped up in Hermie and the pasta cooked normally on the stove as per the packet instructions. If you like, you could add water to the TM bowl when cooking the sauce and then cook the spaghetti in the TM bowl if preferred. Enjoy!
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 spring onions, cut into 10cm lengths
20 grams olive oil
400 grams canned chopped tomatoes
12 prawns, deheaded, shelled
chilli flakes (optional)
50 grams baby spinach
salt to taste
spaghetti for 2.5 people
1. Place saucepan filled with water on stove to boil.
2. Place garlic and spring onion into TM bowl. Chop 3-4 secs/ speed 6.
3. Add olive oil to TM bowl and saute 2mins/ varoma/ stir speed/ reverse. Scrape down sides of bowl.
4. Add tomatoes (chilli flakes if using) and salt to TM bowl and cook 10-12mins/ 100C/ stir speed/ reverse.
5. Add prawns and cook 6-8mins/ 100C/ stir speed/ reverse.
6. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in prepared saucepan as per packet instructions.
7. Finally add spinach and cook 1mins/100C/ stir speed/ reverse.
8. Serve over cooked spaghetti with a drizzle of olive oil over the top.
Serves 2 adults and 1 child.
Bon Appetit xx
