Spaghetti Bolognese

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What you need for 4 is:
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
I medium onion roughly chopped
450g (1lb) lean minced beef
250g tube of tomato puree
1 medium sized red pepper de-seeded and sliced
100g (4oz) mushrooms sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
225g best spaghetti
1 pint of beef stock or cube with boiling water
1 can of plum tomatoes (optional extra)
100g (4oz) mature cheddar cheese grated
25g (1oz) breadcrumbs

What you do is:

  • Heat the oil in a pan.
  • Fry the onions and minced beef in the heated oil for 2 minutes.
  • Add the plum tomatoes,tomato puree, mushrooms and sliced peppers, cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile place a pan with 1½ pints of water on the stove and bring it to the boil.
  • When boiling add salt and ground pepper and place the spaghetti in the pan, you will need to carefully help the rigid spaghetti sticks bend under the heat until they sit down in the pan (nothing like sitting on the other pan you understand). Cook until you can pinch through the spaghetti easily with your forefinger and thumb, obviously removing a strand of spaghetti from the water first to do the "pinching" trick, because the other method of plunging your hand into the boiling water to do it is not recommended.
  • Drain and transfer the spaghetti into a deep dish, sprinkle with the mature grated cheese mixed with the bread crumbs flash it under a very hot grill to crisp up the cheese and get a golden brown effect. Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley. Add a side salad (if you must).