Spaghetti Bolognese

Spaghetti bolognese is one of our family staples, a dish that Mr Wonderful and I have both cooked and improved on together to get it just right.

 If I was to be sentimental about a recipe, this would be one. 

It's not complicated, there's no special ingredients, it's just the recipe that we created together. It's not my recipe, it's our recipe and we all love it.

What I haven't written down in the recipe is that I sometimes add grated vegetables like carrots and zucchinis. If you need to boost your families vegetable intake, strong flavoured, saucey meals are the best disguise. 

I'm sure I have mentioned before that by some kind of miracle I am fortunate enough in my three children not to have to rely on hidden veg but I wonder if lack of visible vegetables makes the meal a bit more interesting for them.

Spaghetti Bolognese (beef)

note: we use beef because it is cheaper than pork but this recipe does work with pork too.

1 Tablespoon cooking oil

2 brown onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

500g mince/ground beef

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup tomato paste

2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce

2 Teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup hot water

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2 teaspoons Italian spice blend

• in a medium to large pot, heat oil to medium heat and saute onions until they become translucent.

• Turn heat up to high, add garlic and stir continuously for 30 seconds.

• Add beef, salt and pepper. Mix and cook until browned.

• Now you can incorporate the remaining ingredients. Break bay leaves a little to increase their flavour but remember not to break too small as you'll need to remove them before serving.

• Cover and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better!

• Remove bay leaves and serve with spaghetti.

Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

I recommend and use high quality spice blends like Your Inspiration at Home, the flavours are fresher and more vibrant than those you find on the supermarket shelves. You'd be surprised the difference the quality makes on flavour intensity.

Of course you can't go past the freshness of growing them yourselves.