Spaghetti Bolognese

1.5kg mince

2 medium onions roughly chopped

2 tins chopped tomatoes

1 500g carton of passata

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 stick of celery, peeled and finely chopped.

3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons of tomato puree

2 dessert spoons sugar

Salt

Pepper

preparation 10 mins • you cook for 10 mins • total time 55 mins

Makes 12 portions

Watch a 30 second preview of my cook-along video below

If you cannot view the video below, click here to download QuickTime from Apple's website.

Spag Bol. This is a dish that has suffered from being a student favourite containing only mince and cheap supermarket sauce. With a little care and attention though, spaghetti bolognese should be a dish that's the ultimate in comfort and packed with flavour. I always make a large amount of this, and the recipe below is for 12 individual portions. I leave it to cool and divide the portions into sealable little food bags, which can then lie flat in the freezer for up to a month. This means that you have ready made 'ready meals' for those evenings you can't be bothered to cook. This is a two part recipe. In part one we get the veg cooked. In part two we do everything else!

Very big pan. Look at all the ingredients and remember they all have to fit.

Spoon to stir

Before you start, have all the veg chopped and ready. Put your large pan on a high heat and click here!

Before you start, have your tins open, bottles ready and click here!

Add 2-3 tablespoons oil to the pan and add the carrots, celery, onion & garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper together with your dried herbs. Stir everything together and turn the heat down to low and cook for 5 minutes without colouring too much.

Turn the heat up full and add half the mince. Stir everything together to gradually brown the mince. Add the other half of the mince and stir in, together with a good couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Remember it might seem like a lot of salt, but you're making 12 portions so it's not actually that much. Keep turning the mince over in the pan, so that the bits that are pink get to the heat and turn brown.

If you're using lean mince, then ignore this paragraph, but if you're using regular mince, you can drain some of the fat. Get a bowl, turn the heat off and put a lid on the pan. Tilt the pan, leaving a little gap with the lid, and pour out the excess fat that you don't need into the bowl. This is a good way to save money as regular mince is a lot cheaper than lean mince.

Turn the heat back on and when the mince is pretty much browned (don't worry if there are a few pink bits) then it's time to add in the other ingredients.

Add two tablespoons of tomato puree and stir it in. Next add the two tins of chopped tomatoes and stir. Then add the passata and stir. Hopefully your kitchen is smelling great now and you can see the makings of a delicious bolognese. Add three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, one tablespoon of worcestershire sauce and two dessert spoons of sugar. Turn the heat down low now and let it simmer gently for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, put your pasta on, and once that's done, you're ready to eat. Toss a few torn basil leaves and some parmesan on top if you've got it, and remember the rest can be portioned up and frozen. I portion them in 500g amounts for two portions, but it's about 250g per person. Lay them flat in your freezer ready for those lazy evenings.

I hope that you enjoy it.

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