Pork Spaghetti Bolognese

A twist on the classic beef bolognese!

Serves 4

- 500g lean pork mince

- 1 large red onion, chopped

- 2 cloves garlic, crushed

- 4 rashers of smoked bacon, chopped

- 400g spaghetti

- 400g tin chopped tomatoes

- mixed dried herbs

- salt & pepper

- balsamic vinegar

- cheddar or parmesan cheese, to garnish

1. In a large saucepan, brown the pork mince in olive oil. Then add the onion, garlic and bacon. Stir and cook for 5-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in salted, boiling water for about 10 minutes, or according to packet instructions.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, herbs, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar to the mince mixture and mix together thoroughly, bringing to the boil then simmering for a further 10 minutes.

4. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain, and dish up.

5. Top with the mince and sprinkle with some grated cheese!

Enjoy :)

Bolognese bake

 (I only took one photo when out of the oven - apologies!)

Super easy, delicious food that everyone will love. A twist on a good old spag bol - take an exciting, different pasta like conchiglioni (large pasta shells) and bake with mozzarella and fresh basil!

Serves 4

- 450g lean beef mince

- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

- 2 red onions, chopped

- 200g mushrooms, sliced

- jar of good pasta sauce (I used Sacla with whole tomatoes in - see pic below)

- glug of balsamic vinegar

- seasoning

- 350g conchiglioni (or pasta of your choice)

- 1 ball of mozzarella, sliced

- handful of fresh basil

- handful of cheddar cheese, grated

1. For the bolognese part, brown the mince in a large pan then add the garlic and onions and cook for a few minutes before adding the mushrooms.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted water according to packet instructions.

3. When the mince mixture is cooked through, add the sauce, balsamic vinegar and seasoning. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

5. When the pasta is cooked, drain and mix with the bolognese mixture.

6. Pour everything into a baking dish and top with the slices of mozzarella and torn basil leaves. Don't forget to grate some cheddar on top too.

7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown on top.

Enjoy :)

Pasta and meatballs

A twist on the normal spaghetti bolognese! Although this takes a little longer than just browning mince, the dish is automatically transformed into something more special and exciting, so it is definitely worth it. I made half the meatballs with lamb mince and half the meatballs with beef mince (just what we had in the freezer) which made it even more interesting because there were two different flavours of meat - it was fun guessing which was which (clearly spend too much time with food...) It can be quite tricky cooking meatballs from scratch because they tend to crumble and fall apart when turning them in the frying pan. I found that the lamb meatballs didn't fall apart at all, and cooked perfectly, whereas the beef meatballs crumbled a bit (something to do with the type of meat? not sure what exactly though.) I love this meal, since I love cooking with fresh garlic and fresh herbs - the flavours in the meatballs and sauce were delicious. This meal will never fail to impress - people always think meatballs are more difficult to make than they really are (shh)!

Serves 2 (makes 12 meatballs)

- 250g mince (beef or lamb, or both)

- 3 garlic cloves, crushed

- 2 small red onions, chopped

- few handfuls of fresh parsley, chopped

- salt and pepper

- olive oil or egg yolk, for binding

- olive oil, for frying

- 1 red pepper, chopped

- tin of chopped tomatoes, or passata

- fresh basil, torn

- fresh parmesan, grated

- 200g pasta

(Above is the passata we used. It's a huge jar so I used just over half - it's basically the same as tinned tomatoes but just crushed rather than larger pieces of tomato. I think this brand was from Costco)

1. In a bowl, combine the mince, 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 chopped onion, chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and oil or egg. Shape into medium sized balls - it should make around 12.

2. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan (I used 2 smaller frying pans) and fry the meatballs over a low-medium heat, turning occasionally to ensure they are cooked in the middle. They should be browned.

3. Set aside. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions (around 10 mins) in salted water. Meanwhile, fry the remaining onion and garlic in some olive oil. Once softened, add the peppers, cook for a few minutes, then add the passata or chopped tomatoes. Season to taste with fresh basil, salt and pepper, and some parmesan.

4. Return the meatballs to the sauce and heat through for a few minutes. Drain the pasta and serve topped with the meatballs and sauce. Garnish with some more basil leaves and some freshly grated parmesan!

Enjoy :)

Spaghetti bolognese

Who doesn't like a good old spag bol!?

Serves 2

Ingredients:

- 250g lean beef mince

- 1 tbsp olive oil (for frying)

- 1 red onion

- 150g mushrooms (optional)

- Tomato and herb pasta sauce

- 2 tsp beef gravy granules

- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 180g spaghetti or other pasta

- Handful of grated parmesan cheese to garnish (or mozzarella, or cheddar)

(You can use tinned tomatoes instead of a ready-made pasta sauce and season to taste - herbs, garlic, salt & pepper - adding extra gravy granules, balsamic, or even some beef stock (follow instructions for water measurement), and allow it to reduce and thicken)

The way I make it is simply browning mince, adding onion and usually mushroom but I didn't have any yesterday ah! Then I add a tomato and herb sauce (or tinned tomatoes and add my own herbs and stock depending on what I have in the cupboard). Yesterday I just used a tomato sauce from Sainsbury's which had herbs, onion and garlic in it too.

It was quite runny so I added some beef gravy granules which added to the meaty flavour and thickened it a bit, this was delicious!

But, my absolute favourite ingredient to add (my kind of 'secret ingredient' for pretty much everything haha..) is balsamic vinegar! It tastes divine with the rich tomato sauce and sweetens it mmm, it was delicious I think everyone should add a splash to their bolognese sauce

I served with spaghetti (a mix of plain and wholewheat) and sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese as I didn't have Parmesan.