For part 2 of "Cooking with Bae", we decided on a simple, inexpensive and incredibly tasty homemade Spaghetti Bolognaise sauce, served with a side of warm bread, Italian ham with a hint of Rosemary, sliced Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil and olives, all drizzled with olive oil and mixed herbs. Oh, and not forgetting the red wine to wash all of the deliciousness down...super nom!
It's difficult to go wrong with Spaghetti Bolognaise (or "Speggy", as J calls it). With the simple ingredients that are super cheap to pick up from your local supermarket (ours were all purchased at a reasonable price from Aldi) and the easiness of putting them together, you'll find that the most difficult bit is to make sure that the pasta and sauce are done around the same time.
Again, head chef J did a great job working the cooking tools - you wouldn't think that this was only his second time cooking something from scratch! I only had to guide him occasionally, just to talk him through the order in which things had to go into the pan, how long to cook them for, etc, but in general, he had it all well under control. It was obvious that he had grown in confidence following the success of his Paella (please see "Cooking with Bae" - part 1!) and he whipped this concoction of tomato-based delightfulness up to perfection.
And folks, this is how he did it...
Super Easy Spaghetti Bolognaise Sauce (aka "Speggy") - serves 4*
*It actually served 2 in our case. Both J and I have pretty big appetites, though J can REALLY put it away!
1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil
500g minced beef
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 diced onion (white or red) - we used white.
1/2 diced red pepper
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 chopped button mushrooms
Tomato puree
Green olives
A splash of red wine (to taste)
Mixed herbs (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to season)
Shredded basil
1. Heat oil in a cooking pan. Add the garlic and onion and cook over a medium heat for around 30 seconds.
2. Add the minced beef and fry until browned. Stir in the can of chopped tomatoes. To make the mixture more "sauce-like", add a little bit of water to reach your desired consistency.
3. Add the tomato puree. How much depends on how "tomato-ey" you want the bolognaise sauce to be.
4. Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple of minutes, then stir in the red pepper and mushrooms. Add a handful of green olives and a sprinkle of mixed herbs. Let the sauce simmer lightly (over a low heat) for another couple of minutes.
5. Splash (or pour, it's completely up to you!) a bit of red wine into the sauce. As tempting as it may be, please refrain from adding the entire bottle! Mix the sauce.
6. Place a generous amount of sauce on top of cooked pasta (we chose Spaghetti) and decorate with shredded basil. Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
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| Chopping away at onions! |
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| Head chef J at work! |
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| Adding a "splash" of red wine...glug glug. |
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| The finished product! |
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| Nom nom! |
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| The sides! |
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| After dinner! Alfie cat missed the dinner party! |
