MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CROCKPOT SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE SAUCE new blog

 

Another old recipe. I am always looking for healthier versions of favorites, and when I found this at Gina's skinnytaste.com blog, I decided to give it a try.  It works out to approximately 146 calories per 1/2 cup serving.  If you click on the name it will take you to Gina's recipe.

The other good news for me is that this is a crockpot meal. There is a little preparation beforehand. You can use your food processor if you have one.  I do all my veggie chopping by hand but start early in the day when my energy levels are pretty good.  It is at a time when I still find the process of preparation relaxing.

Crockpot Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce

4 ounces of Pancetta, chopped (or center cut bacon)

1 teaspoon butter (or olive oil)

1 large white onion, minced

2 celery stalks (about 3/4 cup), minced

2 carrots (about 3/4 cup), minced

2 lbs. 95% lean ground beef

1/4 cup white wine (I prefer red)

2 cans (28 ounces total) crushed tomatoes

3 bay leaves

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup half and half cream

In a large sauté pan, sauté pancetta on low heat until the fat melts, about 4-5 minutes.

Add butter (or olive oil), onions, celery, carrots and cook on medium-low heat until soft, about five minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and add meat, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until browned. Drain the fat, then add the wine. Cook until liquid reduces down, about 3-4 minutes.

Add this mixture to the crockpot, along with the tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and pepper.  Cover and set on low and go do other things for the next six hours.  After six hours, serve up your dinner.

Added note: 4-24-24

Thanks to Debbie's comment I realized I hadn't mentioned when to put the cream into the sauce. I add it a few minutes before serving up, and only long enough that it is heated. Thanks Debbie!

I don't actually add the cream as we think it's fine without, and cream and I are not friends.

Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top for a garnish.

Another good result, very yummy and a keeper.

We both prefer Angel Hair pasta instead of regular.  

Lots of leftovers and I served it with a mixed green salad.  Above is an old photo when I made this meal originally. We most often don't add bread to our pasta meals any more. 

There were leftovers which I froze for no cooking days.  

Thanks for looking, have a great week and

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

Today I am trying a Jaimie Oliver Recipe for Spaghetti Bolognese.  You can find the original recipe at this link if you would like to take a look. The recipe can be found in his book, "Oliver's Twist".

Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves: 6

Calories: 618

Super easy to prepare

Prep to table approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

 

2 cloves of garlic

1 onion

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

6 rashers dry-cured higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon

olive oil

500 g minced beef  (ground beef to us and it works out to a little over 1 lb.)

200 ml red wine (almost 7 ounces in fl. ounces but I used 2 cup)

1 x 280 g jar of sun-dried tomatoes (almsot 10 ounces in our measurements)

2 x 400 g tins of plum tomatoes (works out to just over 10 ounces for 1 can of tomatoes)

500 g dried spaghetti (I used a 16 oz. box)

Parmesan cheese

extra virgin olive oil 

If you want the exact measurements you can find the conversion I used here, but what I used worked out great for us.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

Peel and finely chop the garlic and onions, pick and finely chop the rosemary, then finely slice the bacon.

Heat a splash of oil in a casserole pan on a medium heat, add the bacon, rosemary, garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.

Add the minced/ground beef, breaking it apart with the back of a spoon, then cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until starting to brown, then pour in the wine. Leave to bubble and cook away.

Meanwhile, drain and tip the sun-dried tomatoes into a food processor, blitz to a paste, then add to the pan with the tomatoes. Stir well, break the plum tomatoes apart a little.

Cover with a lid then place in the oven for 1 hour, removing the lid and giving it a stir after 30 minutes – if it looks a little dry at this stage, add a splash of water to help it along.

About 10 minutes before the time is up, cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, drain, reserving a mugful of cooking water, then return to the pan with a few spoons of Bolognese, a good grating of Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Toss to coat the spaghetti, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed.

Divide the spaghetti between plates or bowls, add a good spoonful of Bolognese to each, then serve with a fine grating of Parmesan.

What did we think of this recipe?  It was great, very tasty! 

We used an 16oz. box of Angel Hair pasta, which has been our favorite for years. 

We added a small container of mushrooms the same time we added the sun-dried and plum tomatoes. They were sliced and sautéed a few minutes before preparation of the meal, but could be done much earlier and refrigerated if necessary.  

I have never seen bacon described as “rashers dry-cured higher-welfare smoked streaky bacon”. I'm sure there are equivalents over here and I will investigate next time I go to the supermarket. I used regular bacon instead.  Added note from Gregg: he said he would prefer it without the bacon. We will try that next time.

Fixed this with a simple mixed salad. It would go great with garlic bread or a plain crusty roll, but we found it more than enough without.  

We had leftovers for other meals, and the next day the flavor was even better.  

Thanks for the visit, enjoy your week 

and Bon Appétit!

MONDAY RECIPE POST - 30-MINUTE WEEKNIGHT SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

Today's recipe came from Carlsbad Cravings hosted by Jen.  Jen lives in Carsbad, California, in north San Diego.  You can find the original recipe at this link.

30 Minute Weeknight Spaghetti Blognese - serves 4 to 6

For the Bolognese Sauce, I doubled up on all ingredients as I wanted to make enough to freeze several meals. Below is the amount for one batch of Bolognese Sauce, not the 2 that I made:

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped*

1 stalk celery, finely chopped*

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 24 oz. jar quality marinara sauce (recommend Raos brand)

1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

1/2-1 teaspoon sugar (to taste)

1 tsp each salt, dried oregano, dried parsley

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4-1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes. (optional)

Add later:

1/4 cup heavy cream (optional and not something I added)

Fresh parsley for garnish

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cook spaghetti al dente according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup pasta water before draining, in case you need to thin your sauce later. 

Toss drained spaghetti with a little olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking to each other.

Heat 1 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. 

Add meat, onions, carrots and celery and cook until meat is browned.

Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. 

Drain off any excess grease if needed.

Stir in all of the remaining “Bolognese Sauce” ingredients up to the heavy cream (if using) and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. 

Simmer gently uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add heavy cream (if using) and continue to simmer 5 minutes or until sauce reaches desired consistency. 

If you like a thinner sauce, stir in a little of the reserved pasta water a little at a time.  (We found we liked the spaghetti sauce without any added water

Serve Bolognese Sauce over spaghetti and garnish with plenty of Parmesan and sprigs of Parsley.

This bolognese sauce was excellent.  We made it with the recommended Raos brand of Marinara Sauce (from original recipe).  My Dear Other Half thought it added more flavor.  As luck would have it a lady was picking up a jar at the same time as us, and when we asked she recommended it highly. She said she and her daughter don’t use anything else, so that was a good enough recommendation for me.

We used no cream and substituted 2% milk.  

We did not need to use any pasta water to thin the sauce out.  

I have tried making a lot of spaghetti sauces over the years, but it's been a long time since I put one together.  Dear Other Half asked if we could have Spaghetti Bolognese a few days ago.  I browsed through several recipes online, and this not only sounded very good but was easy and fast.  We got the ingredients today (made this on 11-2-22).  

I already had several ingredients, prepared the vegetables earlier and got everything else measured out.  It made it a snap to make and was on the table in the 30 minutes stated.  It also freezes well (see below), and I made a double batch for several meals.

Jen explained that "Bolognese is named after the cooking style in Bologna, Italy. Bolognese Sauce is thick and meaty, simmered with minced onions, carrots and celery, and often enhanced with wine, milk or celery.  We did not have any wine and I tend to stay away from too much dairy these days.  It was delicious without.  She added that if you are looking for a tomato-ey, liquidy sauce more marinara-style, this is not it."  

I recommend reading the original recipe as there is added information that I don't always put on my recipe blog post.  Plus, the fact that you can look at all the other great recipes.

Spaghetti Bolognese will last up to 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge.  You could make this the day before and it only gets better. 

The sauce freezes well.  Let the sauce cool completely before putting in freezer-proof containers.  I usually split each serving into 2 cup containers, and one container is enough for the two of us. It freezes up to 3 months.  Thaw out overnight and gently heat in a pan on top of the stove.

We always use Angel Hair Pasta.  I thought of making a ziti casserole with the sauce, and a few other Italian dishes it would go with.

It tasted wonderful with the grated Parmesan sprinkled over, and I grated extra and put it in the fridge in an airtight container for tomorrow's meal.  I suggested we toast Garlic bread under the broiler using the Parmesan. 

We will also make a fresh spinach salad.

Thanks for looking, have a great week 

and Buon appetito!