I’ve cooked hubby’s favourite spaghetti aglio olio several times in the past. Hence, this time I decided to cook spaghetti bolognese for him instead. Nowadays, it’s pretty easy to cook pasta with jars of pre- packaged pasta sauces that are available from the stores. I’ve tried using them before, but they were a total let down. But that surely didn’t stop me from trying again.
Today’s pasta bolognese was something I made from scratch (except for the tomato purée). The authentic bolognese sauce requires long hours of simmering, usually about 4-5 hours. However, because of my work commitment, long hours of cooking is definitely a privilege I do not have. So, what I did was to use the ready-made pasta sauce. I bought all the necessary ingredients and prepared them before hubby came back from work. Everything went on smoothly until the final preparation step when I found out that the Parmesan cheese I bought sometime ago had turned mouldy. Definitely felt disappointed but despite that, hubby did not even complain about it, instead he gave a big thumbs up for the pasta and that was all that mattered.
Quick Pasta Bolognese Recipe
Serves: 2 -3 pax / Prep Time: 15mins / Cook Time: 30mins / Level of Difficulty: Simple
Ingredients
- 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 1 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 can of tomato paste
- 2 pounds of ground beef
- 1 cup of white wine
- 1/2 packet of angel hair spaghetti
- Salt to taste
- 1 pinch of ground black pepper
- Dry parsley flakes
- 1 tbsp. olive oil butter
Instructions
1. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When almost smoking, add the onions and sauté them under low heat till the onions become very soft and translucent.
2. Add the celery and carrot; and sauté them for 3 minutes, until just tender.
3. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir frequently to avoid sticking and burning. Break up any large lumps with a wooden spatula and cook until thorough or until meat is no longer pink in colour.
4. Add in the tomato purée and stir occasionally over medium low heat.
5. Pour in the white wine and the stir until the wine has mixed in. Add butter and water to the sauce and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes with just an intermittent bubble breaking on the surface. You may add in another 1/2 cup of water to avoid it from sticking (if necessary).
6. Reduce the heat and add the parsley flakes. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce has thicken with just an intermittent bubble breaking on the surface. You may add in another 1/2 cup of water to avoid it from sticking (if necessary). Season with salt and pepper.
7. In the mean time, bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the spaghetti. Add a generous amount of salt into the water. Tips: regardless how well the sauce may turn out to be, the complete dish will always taste under-seasoned if the pasta water is under-seasoned (not enough salt added). Add in the spaghetti when the water is boiling and cook for as per instruction.
8. Drain the pasta well and serve them with the sauce. Top the pasta with more parsley flakes. Serve immediately.
NOTES:
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