Cook up one big pot of Bolognese and serve 6 different super-quick, super healthy meals
It's the go-to dish for millions of households across the world. Everyone has their favourite Bolognese recipe and the beauty of this delicious sauce is that it can be "joojed" up, kept simple, vege-fied and served a multitude of ways.
I make a large pot and then freeze about half of it in portions for quick and easy kid and adult-friendly meals. I use a good quality beef mince and add in loads of vegetables which help to stretch it further and also make sure we all get plenty of fibre and goodness in every serve. I keep my sauce pretty basic in flavour profile so that with a couple of quick and easy additions, I can use this as a base for many different dishes (see above) How to cook (note, instructions are a general guide only) Medium/ high heat -1 glug of olive oil in large heavy based saucepan Add onions for 2 mins or until soft Add celery & garlic for another 2 mins Add carrot for another 2 mins Add mince and stir for 3-4 mins or until lightly cooked Add red capsicum for 1 minute Add zucchini and pumpkin for 1 minute Add tomatoes and bring to gentle simmer Add stock and red wine if using Add spinach Chuck in red lentils if using and bay leaves Simmer on low heat with lid on for 30 mins. Turn off heat and stir in tomato paste Note: for a truly versatile sauce, it's helpful for it to be quite rich & thick. If the sauce seems quite runny, leave the pan lid off and let the sauce reduce a little. Bolognese, like chilli and curries, always seem to taste better the next day....this will keep well in the fridge in a sealed container for about 3 days. I usually freeze about half of what I make in small plastic, microwave-friendly tubs. |
my easy & versatile Bolognese makes 8 adult serves 8 veges1 med onion, diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 stick celery, diced 2 carrots, finely diced 1 red capsicum, diced 1 large zucchini, grated/ finely chopped 30g spinach, finely chopped/frozen cube 50g pumpkin, grated/ finely chopped you can add more or less of any veges according to what you have. Sometimes I double up all of the veges to stretch the meat (expensive when organic) out. the other stuff 500g beef mince (I prefer to buy organic meat) 2 x 400g tins tomatoes, preferably no added salt or sugar Stock: I make my own stock from chicken roasts and leftover veges then freeze it in cubes. Any stock cube (x1) or powder (tbsp) you like will do (beef, chicken and vege all work). Be aware that some are choc-full of salt and sugar so be sparing! 2 bay leaves handful red lentils (optional - just for an extra hit of fibre and protein) 1/2 cup red wine (optional, I just had some left over) 2 tablespoons tomato paste (preferably no added sugar or salt) flavour
I make my big pan of Bolognese light in salt and added flavours so I can feed it to my young kids and know there are no nasties in there. I simply season and adjust it for each meal depending on how and to who I am serving it. Here are some options to add/ balance flavour: a few glugs of Worcestershire sauce teaspoon (or to taste) of fish sauce/ anchovy fillets (no fishy taste, just great depth of flavour) teaspoon of soy sauce or to taste works same as above desert spoon cacao powder (yes really!) Salt & pepper to taste squeeze of lemon juice I wouldn't recommend using all of these together, just choose what you have to add some depth and I suggest adding small quantities and tasting as you go! This recipe made 2 litres of Bolognese. Average serve for an adult is 250ml/ 1 cup thus this recipe is approximately 8 adult serves |