An allergen-free version of a family favourite. Chances are that cooking this much means you will have enough for another meal later in the week. Or freeze so you have a ready-made meal to whip out when you need it.
Ingredients
- 2 large onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 kg minced beef
- 1 400g tin tomatoes
- 2 carrots
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 500 g spaghetti
Method
1. Dice the onions and chop the garlic finely.
2. Peel, if necessary, and dice the carrots.
3. Put a large saucepan on high heat. When it is very hot, add the minced beef so that it sizzles. If the minced meat is lean, you may need to add some oil to the pan first. Leave the meat until it has browned – don’t stir the meat in this time – then remove and put to one side. You may need to do this in small batches so the meat is in a single layer at the bottom of the pan. Each batch will take about 5 minutes.
4. When all the meat has been cooked and removed from the pan, turn the heat down to medium under the saucepan. You should have some fat left in the bottom of the saucepan. Add some oil if it looks a bit dry.
5. Stir the onions to coat them in oil. Cook slowly until translucent (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
6. Returned the minced beef to the saucepan. Add the tomatoes, with their juice, carrots, tomato paste, bay leaves, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer, half-covered for about 45 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions.
8. Drain the cooked spaghetti and stir into the bolognese. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
**Always check the ingredients of any food you’re cooking with to make sure it doesn’t contain something you or your child should avoid.
