Spaghetti Bolognese

The crowd pleaser that never gets old

Spaghetti Bolognese, or Spag Bol as it is affectionately known in parts, is unexpectedly the thing I have come to love cooking more than most anything else. This is because a) everyone in my house eats it (most important) b) I don’t have to use a recipe or my brain too much at all, and c) it can be made with a number of variations depending on what is available. I like to pour myself a glass of wine and just stand in front of the stove stirring it- not because constant stirring is necessary but rather because it is quite nice to stand and do nothing and yet still look busy, it’s very relaxing.

As I said, depending on what is available in season (or in the bottom of my fridge) I will vary what goes in, this is a sort of base recipe that you can change as you desire. I might add a few vegetables, very finely chopped or even grated, such as carrot, celery, zucchini, fennel or kale- for me there is a fine line I walk regarding how many vegetables I can get away with adding, but I try to get some in there.

Herbs can be any of the following fresh or dried: rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme. Fresh basil (save some to at the end) and parsley (add stalks , finely chopped, as it’s cooking, and leaves at the very end). In general, I do prefer to use fresh herbs but good-quality dried herbs are a godsend in a pinch and I always keep some in the pantry. I usually do a mix of a few herbs, my favourite combination being fresh oregano and a little chopped rosemary, chopped parsley on top at the end. As a general rule, you want to use half or a third of the amount dried as fresh, even less for oregano, I always recommend using less to start and adding more later if it needs it.

This recipe has only beef, but it is also delicious with a combination of pork and beef.

Most recipes that involve cooking tomato can be balanced or lifted with a tiny pinch of sugar. I don’t usually add any for my bolo if I have good tomatoes to start with, but sometimes it can really help to send it home.