Spaghetti Bolognese

Deliciously Gloopy Spaghetti Bolognese

This version of spaghetti Bolognese is a healthy, yet rich and gloopy Bolognese. It is a firm favourite with my children and is easy to cook on the stove or in the slow cooker. It also freezes very well, so you can prepare large batches in advance.

I always use good quality, less than 5% fat content, minced beef. I also use port with this recipe instead of red wine. The port gives it a deeper, richer flavour. Port also has a much longer shelf-life than red wine, so I don’t have that inner conflict of feeling I “really ought” to finish the rest of the bottle off!

The Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar lend a gooey element to the bolognese which is one of the reasons why we love it so much.

Serves 4

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 carrots, washed and chopped

4 large chopped tomatoes or handful of cherry tomatoes

500g minced beef

400g can chopped tomatoes

Good squeeze of sundried tomato paste

50ml water (whoosh it round the emptied can of tomatoes)

200 ml port (or red wine)

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Pinch salt

Lots of freshly grated black pepper

Parmesan cheese

How to cook spaghetti Bolognese

To cook on the stove:

Use a large frying pan and melt the coconut oil.

Add the chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes on a gentle heat until it starts to brown. Add the carrot chunks and cook on a medium heat for a further 5 minutes with the lid on. Toss in the meat and make sure to separate it well to avoid it cooking into chunks of mince. Let the meat brown for 5 minutes or so. Add the port, salt and black pepper and stir well.

Add the tinned tomatoes, water, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Combine well and bring to the boil. With the lid on, simmer on a low heat for a good 2 hours. It will be ready within an hour, but it won’t be as gloopy and delicious as allowing it to cook for longer. If the sauce needs a little thickening before serving, either reduce it in the pan or stir through some gravy thickening powder.

Approximately 15 minutes before serving up, boil a large pan of water and add the spaghetti. Cook according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and drizzle with a little olive oil.

To serve, divide the pasta into four bowls, spoon the Bolognese sauce onto the pasta and grate over a little fresh parmesan cheese.

To cook in the slow cooker:

I cook on the high setting of my slow cooker. It’s a simple as adding all the ingredients and combining well. As I don’t pre-fry or pre-boil anything you will not need the coconut oil.

Cook on a high setting for approximately 7-8 hours with the lid on, stirring occasionally if possible. I have cooked this for 9 hours in the past and it was as equally delicious. If the sauce needs a little thickening before serving, stir through some gravy thickening powder.

Remember to cook the pasta and add the grated parmesan cheese as above.