Spaghetti Bolognese

This is a typical winter dish because its one of those comfort foods that you make a lot of and then binge eat your way through the whole dish by midnight. A hearty meat sauce covers a bed of warm spaghetti with melting cheese on top – so inviting, no living soul can resist second helpings.

This tastes best with beef mince, I wouldn’t recommend using chicken. Slow cooked beef mince is what makes the sauce so hearty and rich, If you are using chicken though and ignoring my wise words – make your own stock making sure that it is rich enough to counter for the lack of depth. Since I used beef, I used store bought stock. I would recommend using a nonstick pan. highly recommend.

Ingredients:

For the sauce:

• 1 kg Beef mince
• 8 cloves garlic
• 6 tbsp oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 4 onions, chopped finely
• 3 heaped tbsp flour
• 8 tbsp tomato puree
• 1/2 tsp zeera/cumin
• 1 liter chicken stock
• 2 tsp red chilli flakes

Other Ingredients:

• 1 packet spaghetti – cooked according to instructions
• Grated cheddar for topping (optional – oh but you know you want)

 

Saute onion and garlic in oil till onion turns pink.

Add the minced beef and fry this on high heat for around five minutes stirring in between.

Take the pan off the heat and add the flour, put the pan back on heat and turn this to a medium flame. Stir with wooden spoon until the meat is cooked.

Add the seasonings, tomato puree and the stock. Bring the sauce to a boil, scraping the bottom of the pan as you do. Cook for 25 minutes on a low flame till sauce has thickened.

In a large baking dish, pile a layer of cooked spaghetti and blanket this completely with the meat sauce. Pile on some more sauce. YES. do it.

Top off with some grated cheese and in this goes – to the oven. Bake on moderate heat for 15 minutes until cheese has melted and the sauce has trickled down to meet the pasta.

Caution: You will feel like this when eating this, so its better if you have a loved one with you. Its going to bring out your emotional side, this sauce. Its what it does.

 

OH GOD I WANT TO MAKE THIS AGAIN.