Spaghetti Bolognaise

Filed in archive Recipes on June 23, 2006

Yikes! I realise that I posted a recipe to use up leftover spaghetti sauce yet I haven't posted one for the sauce itself. Too much cooking confuses my blogger brain, hehehe!

Growing up, we had spaghetti twice or thrice a month. More often than not, it was Spaghetti Bolognaise (also Bolognese). My mother would cook more than what we could eat in one sitting and froze more than half of it. Later we would just cook some pasta for a quick and healthy after school snack. It had the carbohydrates and protein needed by growing children.

Spaghetti Bolognaise is a traditional Italian meat sauce cooked in the style of Bologna. I usually cook a healthier version nowadays by using lean beaf and minced mushrooms. Eaten alone, it is a satisfying meal. Warm, crusty bread, a fresh salad and a nice glass of red wine makes it a luxurious repast.

Below is my easy cooking recipe. I admit to splurging on the herbs. That is a "bad habit" I must've inherited from my grandfather, according to my grandmother. You can use a lot less than what is indicated if you don't prefer it too aromatic.

Spaghetti Bolognaise Sauce
1 large onion, chopped
1 head garlic, finely crushed
200 g. mushrooms, chopped
500 g. ground beef
500 g. tomato sauce (or approx. 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup red wine (I even use 2 sometimes)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 bay (laurel) leaf
basil, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, oregano
salt to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated

In a saucepan, heat olive oil and fry onion till almost transparent. Add the garlic and stir every now and then till soft. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon. Add the ground beef and bay leaf. Lower the heat and simmer until the meat changes colour.

Pour the tomato sauce, some basil and simmer till reduced by about a third. Sprinkle a portion of the herbs, add the mushrooms and simmer for two minutes. Pour the wine and add all the herbs. Bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer for around 30 minutes, adding more wine to keep the sauce (meat) moist and also to give it more body.

Serve over cooked spaghetti, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Notes: You can use a lot less beef by substituting mushrooms. Canned or packaged tomato sauce can also be used but do not use the whole amount. It usually is more acidic than homemade. This recipe serves around four (4), using a half kilogram packet of (dry, uncooked) spaghetti.