Spaghetti bolognaise

We all need comfort food somtimes!  The usual victim had had a stressful course in London this weekend, so when she got home I wanted to give her something familiar and comforting.  Spag bog hit the nail on the head.  Not much praise, except a doleful smile and a big sigh - "soooo happy to be home" awwwww!

I have looked at some other food blogs, and actually paid attention to some of them - and they actually write out recipes as recipes - so I guess I should follow suit.  This is what I did, but you can add lot of different veg, and even eek out with lentils if a crowd suddenly descends.


For the sauce:- (serves 4-6 depending on greediness, takes about an hour)

1tbsp olive oil
2 chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, cruched
2 tsp dried herbs
500 g miced beef
2 sticks celery
1 courgette
1 red pepper
200 g mushrooms
1 tin chopped tomoatoes
400 ml passata
big squirt tomato ketchup
big squirt tomato puree
big squirt american hotdog mustard
small squirt Worcester sauce
large glass red wine
about 300 ml chicken stock
grated parmesan



spaghetti

1. Soften onions, garlic and chopped celery for 5-10 mins. 
2. Add mince and brown, add mixed herbs.
3.  Chop up the rest of the vegetables and stir in, continue sauteeing for about 10 minutes.
4.  Add tin chopped tomatoes, passata, the squirts of condiments, wine and stock.  Season to taste - quite a lot of black pepper and a pinch of salt for us.
5.  Simmer with a lid, or put in oven for at least 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6.  Boil a lot of salted water, when boiling add spaghetti - boil for a minute less than the packet instructions - and test for al dente.
7. Drain pasta - mix in 1 spoon of sauce to prevent sticking.
8. Serve - grate parmesan on top.

Victim loves it - there were left overs for nuked dinner at work - so we might get an independent review.