Spaghetti Bolognaise

Its a me Mario, just one cornettoooo give it to me, etc. Sorry had to get that out of my system straight away. The Italians have provided us with some fantastic food and no cooking site would be complete without the all time classic Spaghetti Bolognaise. For a long time I thought the only way to make this was with a big jar of sauce bought from the supermarket - I was wrong- not only does this add needless calories but it costs more and does not taste as good. When I make Bolognaise sauce I always make way too much - this is a good though as it freezes beautifully and if stored in foil containers can even be cooked straight from frozen for a super easy tea time treat.

Ingredients


Warning this recipe feeds a small army get your freezer ready for some action


Minced Meat (ideally lean) - it works with any variety - Beef, Pork, Chicken, Turkey or Lamb
1 Onion - chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped/mashed (add more or less to taste)
Optional - in the winter to give the bolognaise a hot twist add a couple of chopped chilli's
2-3 red peppers
8 mushrooms - any variety chopped
Tomatoes - any variety (variety is the spice of life)
4 tins of chopped tomatoes
Fresh Basil a good handfull chopped
5-6 Black olives finely chopped
Rosemary - chopped or dried a pinch
Oregano - dried a pinch
Salt + Pepper to taste

Method


1. Fry the minced meat, mushrooms, chopped onion and garlic in a teaspoonful of olive oil with some salt and pepper. (Drain any excess fat)
2. Take a large saucepan and add all of the other ingredients and simmer.
3. Add the cooked contents of your frying pan to the large saucepan
4. Allow the Bolognaise mixture to simmer until it reduces to a nice consistency - this can take a while - if it starts to boil reduce the heat and stir.
5. Serve with your pasta of choice and grated cheese (ideally parmesan)
6. Resist the urge to do Godfather impressions "Respect me - respect the family!"