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A bowl of bolognese and tagliatelle pasta.
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5 from 22 votes

Easy Spaghetti Bolognese {with Hidden Vegetables!}

This classic easy Spaghetti Bolognese recipe is delicious AND it has hidden vegetables! A perfect batch cook recipe and midweek win for family dinners.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Family Food
Servings: 8 People
Author: Sarah Rossi

Ingredients

  • 250 g Carrots
  • 200 g Chestnut mushrooms
  • 1 Large courgette
  • 1 Large onion See notes.
  • 2 Celery stalks
  • 95 g Pancetta slices Finely chopped. See notes.
  • 500 g Lean beef mince See notes.
  • 3 Garlic cloves Peeled and crushed. See notes.
  • 2 x 400g tins Chopped tomatoes
  • 350 ml Red wine See notes.
  • Whole nutmeg
  • 2 tsp Italian dried herbs
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • A handful of fresh basil leaves

To serve

  • Spaghetti or your choice of pasta See notes.
  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Use your chopper or food processor to finely chop the carrots, mushrooms, courgettes, onions and celery.
  • Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, fry off your small pieces of pancetta. Remove from the pan to a large dish.
  • In the fat left in the bottom of the pan, brown your mince over a medium high heat. Allow it all to turn brown and start to crisp slightly. Remove from the pan and add to the dish with the pancetta.
  • Now add the garlic to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, before adding the finely chopped vegetables. Fry them for about 10 minutes until soft.
  • Add the pancetta and mince back to the pan. Add the tinned tomatoes, red wine, a good grating of the fresh nutmeg (about a quarter of a nutmeg), the dried herbs and salt and pepper.
  • Leave the heat on medium, with the lid on and allow to bubble away for at least 30 minutes (an hour on a very low temperature if you have time). (See notes.)
  • Remove from the heat and add in chopped or ripped basil leaves.
  • Serve with spaghetti and grated parmesan.

Notes

Vegetables: I like to buy a pre-chopped Soffritto mix which is onions, celery and carrots. Most supermarkets stock these now and it can save so much time.
Pancetta: If you can't get hold of pancetta, any smoky bacon will work.
Mince: You don't have to use lean mince but 5% or 10% fat does works fine.
Red wine: If you don't have any red wine open, beef stock is absolutely fine.
Pasta: About 300g of dried pasta is right for 4 people. I haven't included it in the recipe as a specific as I know people like to cook different amounts to their own taste and appetite!
Cooking time: This gets better and better the longer you cook it for on a low heat. If I have time I love to cook it very very low and slow for say 2 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 621mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5315IU | Vitamin C: 7.9mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2.1mg