Easy Bolognese
The Docs Bols! (all your 5-a-day in one)
We have a new guest post! Let’s just call him the Dr! The lovely Dr 🙂 and here’s his Easy Pasta Bolognese recipe. The Docs Bols! (all your 5-a-day in one)
The Dr – He’s just like a real doctor – if you phone him for an appointment on a Tuesday morning you’ve no chance! I’ve even let the Dr write all this – sorry if you can’t read his handwriting!
This is an easy Spag bol that has all your 5-a-day included!
(Sneaky too – the kids will never tell there are hidden veggies! RESULT!)
It’s one of those things you can make while you’re popping in and out of the kitchen; perfect for those evenings when you’ve got to feed everyone but there’s a thousand other things to do.
The Bol will keep in the fridge for a good week after cooking (and a month in the freezer) so you can make it in advance.
Easy & quick Bolognese
Yes you see all these recipes for 20 minute bolognese and whilst I’m sure they taste ok. However in my humble opinion of you cook it for a little loner, your meat is softer and the depth of flavour is greater
It is the perfect top fuss midweek supper and a total crowdpleaser for sure
My family love a good old fashioned delicious spag-bol!
How to serve your Easy Bolognese?
Don’t just serve with spaghetti either – try other pasta shapes too
It’s also great on a baked potato or just a slice of crusty buttered bread.
Jazz up your Easy Bolognese?
You can jazz this up with with all sorts of things –
Garlic if you like it (but don’t tell the Italians!)
Mushrooms give it a nice twist.
If you want to get really fancy maybe a couple of anchovies or even some chopped chicken livers (really) can turn it into a fancy-Dan treat.
You can even turn it into a chilli-con-carne by lobbing in a tin of kidney beans and a teaspoon or two of chilli powder.
Go for you life.
Vegetarian Spag Bol
And you know what if you fancy a vegetarian version simple replace the minced beef with Quorn – done!
What Pasta Goes Best With Bolognese?
The obvious choice is spaghetti, but I love it with lots of pasta shapes especially macaroni (I know odd :-)) ,
It’s also lovely with tagliatelle. And of course you can always use the Bolognese for a delicious lasagne – I love the balance of sauce, bologna and pasta iin lasagne. A good one is delicious!
How Long Can You Keep Bolognese Sauce?
In the refrigerator, stored in. an airtight container I’s say up to three days
However what I tend to do is make double the volume and freeze in portions – so it’s handy to grab for a last minute supper
I store mine frozen for up to 3-4 months
Make sure when you defrost and then reheat it is piping hot!!
The Docs Easy Bolognese! (all your 5-a-day in one)
And if you love this recipe you’ll also love his Scouse Recipe – have a look
Enjoy
Love Clare (& The Dr!)
Easy Bolognese - The Docs Bols!
Ingredients
- 1 large Leek trimmed
- 2 sticks celery washed
- 2 Brown onions peeled
- 2 large Carrots peeled
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 400 g Lean Minced Beef
- 1 -2 Tablespoons dried oregano or mixed herbs
- 1 -2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Tins Chopped Tomatoes
- 2 stock Pots or cubes Beef or Vegetable, or one of each
- 1/2 Tube Tomato Puree
- Black Pepper
Instructions
- Chop all the white and green stuff as small as you can be bothered (the smaller you go the less the kids will spot it!)
- Grate all the orange stuff
- In  a large frying pan, fry the veggies in 1 tablespoon olive oil - fry on a medium to high heat, until the noise changes from hissing (just boiling) to fizzing and popping (actual frying with most of the water gone).
- Stir it about a bit, and leave it a bit, let it do it's thing.
- Meat in, mash it up, so there are no big lumps.
- Add the oregano or mixed herbs and worcestershire sauce
- Fry, fry, fry until it's all gone brown, some of the meat and veg might go a little bit burndy, this is a good thing!
- Again - stir it a bit, leave it a bit - don't get too obsessive with it!
- Add the 2 stock pots (or cubes) and the tommy puree - give it a bit of a jiggle
- Next add the 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, rinse both tins with 1/2 tin of water and add that too.
- Bubble, bubble, low heat , minimum 20 minutes, or as long as you like!
- If it's too thick add a bit of water (out of the kettle is easiest - and it's usually warm).
- If it's too runny, simmer it a bit and it will thicken up.
- Season to taste. Serve with your pasta of choice
victoria
This looks fab, great way to add those veggies into one meal! x
Karen
Love the instructions very funny. When my 2 boys were younger they didn’t like mushrooms, ( they still don’t in their 30’s now) I would put mushrooms and peppers in a food processor and then add them to different dishes. All those flavours without them knowing.
Mandy
Got to love a good sneaky veg recipe! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare X
Corina
What a lovely recipe! It’s always good to try and add as much veg as you can into a bolognaise.
tim
Change yukky beef mince to quorn job done X