Spaghetti Bolognese

Italian food is a family favourite and we are lucky to be relatively close, so on occasional trips over the Alps we can not only eat well but find inspiration for new dishes. Spaghetti bolognese, though, is probably a great starting point for ventures into pasta cooking and the ingredients are easy to find. It's pretty quick and doable on a two-ring hob, as well as tasting great -- Zander's is very popular at uni!

Serves: 3-4 as a main course; serve with a side salad

Time to prepare/cook: Approximately 20-30 minutes, 10 to gather ingredients/prepare onion, garlic and mushrooms; 10-15 to cook sauce and pasta

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Ingredients

• 400-500g lean minced beef

• 400g jar of tomato sauce (with basil if available)

• 1 medium to large onion

• 4-5 large mushrooms (each approx. 2 cm diameter, about 75g in total)

• 30-40g of concentrated tomato paste

• 1-2 teaspoons crushed garlic, or 2 garlic cloves chopped finely

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (could also use parsley if no basil available)

• 1 teaspoon of herbes de provence

• 200 ml red wine (cheap and cheerful is fine)

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

• 400g spaghetti or other pasta (dry pasta from box, normally takes 9 to 12 mins to cook depending on type)

• Grated parmesan for serving

• Pots & pans needed: Large frying pan for the bolognese and large saucepan for the pasta

Method

• Put the olive oil in frying pan and warm up (medium-high heat, 6 on a scale of 1 to 9)

• Fill the saucepan with water and heat on high until boiling, add a pinch of salt if desired

• Chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms finely and add to frying pan, fry (stirring occasionally) for approx. 5 mins until onion is softened and starting to go golden brown

• Push the onion, garlic and mushroom to the sides of pan and add minced meat to the centre of the pan, fry for 5-10 mins stirring gently and turning meat over until the mince is all light brown (no pink left); mix together with the onion, garlic and mushroom

• Add the jar of tomato sauce, tomato paste, herbes de provence and basil to the frying pan and mix well with the meat, onion, mushrooms and garlic

• Add the red wine to the mix in the frying pan and stir into the sauce carefully

• Then turn the heat down to medium-low (4 on a scale of 1 to 9) and let the sauce simmer to combine the flavours, stirring occasionally; at the same time put the pasta into the boiling water to cook and turn saucepan down so it is only just boiling

• Check that the pasta is done (al dente is good) after the appropriate time, and serve the sauce on top of the pasta, with grated parmesan on top

• The bolognese sauce (and any left-over pasta) will keep in fridge for a day or two, just ensure it is reheated completely again before serving

Zander's first uni bolognese!