Spaghetti bolognese baby food recipe

Baby Bolognese with Extra Vegetables

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Posted: Mar 18, 2021Updated: Sep 29, 2021

This baby bolognese was developed with babies and toddlers in mind but is perfect for big kids and adults who are trying to up their vegetable intake. It is packed with vegetables and is gently simmered to maximise flavour and texture.

5 Reasons to Love this Dish

Iron-Rich: Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world, with infants and young children at the highest risk (1) Babies need iron from 6 months, therefore iron-rich recipes such as this bolognese pasta sauce are great for both babies and kids. Read more about Iron-rich foods for kids
Packed With Vegetables: Eating a variety of vegetables is key and this bolognese is packed with four different veggies. There is close to 900g of veggies (+ 800g of tomatoes) added to this recipe.
Family Friendly: Although this recipe was developed with babies/toddlers in mind it is perfect for kids and adults looking to up their vegetable content without even trying/ noticing! There is no need to make a separate meal for your baby, just remove the baby portion before seasoning.
Adaptable: Mix and match the vegetables to what you have available or what is in season. Suggestions are given below under the section “Ingredient Information with Alternative Suggestions”
Freezer Friendly: Freeze so that you are prepared on busy weekday evenings.

Flavour Base Veggies: Onions, celery and carrots are not just added to up the vegetable content, sautéing them in olive oil and garlic provides an excellent flavour base for the bolognese. For this reason, I do not recommend subbing these vegetables with any others. If you have a fussy eater, that has a strong dislike for any of these veggies, then see “Picky Eater Tips” below.
Extra Veggies: Eggplant isn’t something you would normally find in a bolognese but it does literally dissolve into the meat as it simmers. I don’t tend to peel it but if you have children who are opposed to “bits” in their meals then peeling will make it go unnoticed. The eggplant can easily be subbed for zucchini, which dissolves into the sauce just like the eggplant. Mushrooms are great in bolognese or you could add spinach, bell pepper or peas.
Chopped Tomatoes: You can sub with crushed tomatoes or pasatta for a smoother sauce. Check the ingredient list to ensure the tomatoes don’t have additional seasonings or added salt.
Herbs: Dried oregano and bay leaves are added but you can use Italian Mixed herbs or fresh herbs if you prefer.

Process Shots and Cooking Tips

Saute the onion, celery, carrots and garlic in olive oil for around 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to skip/rush this step, it really does add a delicious flavour base to the bolognese.
Increase the heat to high, add the ground beef and continuously stir/ break down the meat until it is browned all over. Again, don’t rush this step, a wooden spoon is great for breaking the ground beef down into nice small pieces.
Add the oregano and tomato paste and mix with the meat. Cook for a couple of minutes to deepen the flavour.
Add the canned tomatoes, eggplant and bay leaf bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for at least 1 hour, but if you have time aim for 2 – 2.5hrs to really bring the bolognese to another level!

Picky Eater Tips

I don’t advocate hiding vegetables in kids food but if you have a particularly fussy eater, that doesn’t like “bits” in their sauce, I would suggest the following.

Mince the onion and celery (I use a food processor for this)
Grate the carrots
Remove the skin of the eggplant.

Serving Suggestions

PASTA: When I think of bolognese I automatically associate it with spaghetti. Fun, messy and great for kids! For babies, I recommend a pasta shape that is easy for them to pick up (rigatoni is pictured) or the tiny baby pasta ideal for spoon-feeding. Alternatively, you can snip the spaghetti up into small pieces which makes it easy for spoon-feeding.
ZOODLES (spiralized zucchini): I often mix spaghetti and zoodles 60% 40% to add more goodness to the plate!
POTATO: Delicious served in a baked potato or sweet potato.
QUESADILLA: Add leftovers to a quesadilla for a yummy lunch.

Storage Instructions

Bolognese only tastes better the next day, so it is perfect to make a day or two in advance and then just reheat at dinner time.

Allow to cool, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two days. Alternatively, transfer the cooled baby bolognese to freezable containers/zip lock bags and freeze for up to two months.

Baby Bolognese

A delicious bolognese, packed with vegetables, that the whole family can enjoy.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

▢ 2 tbsp Olive Oil
▢ 2 Onions (brown, red or white) finely chopped
▢ 2 Celery Stalks finely chopped
▢ 2 Medium Carrots peeled and finely chopped
▢ 3 Garlic Cloves minced
▢ 500g / 1lb Lean Beef Mince (Ground Beef)
▢ 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
▢ 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
▢ 800g / 28oz Canned Chopped Tomatoes
▢ 1 small Eggplant (Aubergine) (around 400g/14oz) 1 cm / ½ inch cubed
▢ 2 Bay Leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots and saute for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Increase the heat to high, add the ground beef and continuously stir/ break down the meat until it is browned all over and broken down into nice small pieces. (This will take around 10 mins)
Add the oregano and tomato paste and mix with the meat. (for around 2 mins)
Add the canned tomatoes, eggplant and bay leaf bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for at least 1 hour, but if you have time aim for 2 – 2.5hrs to really bring the bolognese to another level!

If making this dish for adults / older children then season to taste at the end of cooking.

See the above post for ingredient substitutions, picky eater tips and storage instructions.

Nutritional Information is a ROUGH guide only, calculated using an online nutrition calculator.

Nutrition Facts

Baby Bolognese

Amount Per Serving

Calories 340 Calories from Fat 126

% Daily Value*

Fat 14g22%

Saturated Fat 4g20%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 78mg26%

Sodium 459mg19%

Potassium 1327mg38%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Fiber 8g32%

Sugar 13g14%

Protein 31g62%

Vitamin A 5509IU110%

Vitamin C 29mg35%

Calcium 133mg13%

Iron 6mg33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course:Main Meal

Cuisine:Italian Inspired

Keyword:Bolognese, Hidden Veggies

Did you make this recipe?Mention @WPRecipeMaker or tag #wprecipemaker!

References

Gupta PM, Perrine CG, Mei Z, Scanlon KS, Iron, Anemia, and Iron Deficiency Anemia among Young Children in the United States, NCBI, 2016 May 30 doi: 10. 3390/nu8060330

This post was first published Dec 2013. It has been updated with new images, process shots and recipe information.

Meet Amy

Amy Whiteford runs the blog Healthy Little Foodies. She is a mum to two, has a BSc (Hons) Food Science, PGDE Primary Education and a Certificate in Childhood Nutrition. She uses her experience and knowledge to create healthy and delicious recipes for kids. Explore the site for creative ideas, tips, and inspiration! Read more

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Easy spaghetti bolognese for toddlers and babies

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Need a quick and simple midweek meal for the whole family? My easy spaghetti bolognese recipe for babies and toddlers is perfect!

I’ve been cooking this recipe for over 10 years now and it’s a regular favourite among everyone in our house.

What’s great about this recipe is you can serve your baby, toddler, bigger kids and adults the same thing, so no need to cook twice!

This recipe is extremely easy to puree for a baby if you’re feeding a six month old (just pop it in a food processor and whizz it up for a minute), or can just be served as it is for little ones who are following baby-led weaning.

Can you give a baby spaghetti bolognese?

Yes babies can definitely have spaghetti bolognese and it’s a wonderful meal to introduce from around seven months.

The beef mince is a fantastic introduction to this flavour, and is easy for them to eat, plus it’s a great source of iron.

Cooking your own spaghetti bolognese, rather than using a jar of Dolmio sauce for example, means you can control how much salt is going into the meal. The NHS recommends not adding any extra salt to your baby’s food as they need just a tiny amount in their diet.

I use a low salt stock cube to add flavour – Knorr make a wonderful range – however you can always skip this altogether and just add flavour with dried herbs and your veg.

Because spaghetti bolognese is soft in texture it’s very easy to blend to a puree in a food processor.

When my babies were weaning I would make it in patches and freeze pureed bolognese in potions. Then it was a really quick and easy meal that I had on hand whenever I needed it!

Hidden veg spaghetti bolognese

If you need meal for a fussy eater then spaghetti bolognese is a perfect for hiding veggies!

Trust me when I say that just because your child says they hate onion, doesn’t mean they actually hate onion. I have to try not to laugh when my children insist they hate cooked carrot (they only like raw carrot), when they actually eat it in my sauces all the time!

You will need to make sure the veg you add to the bolognese sauce is not just chopped, but processed into a paste before you add it if you want to hide the veg.

The vegetables I usually add to my bolognese sauce are:

Celery
Onion
Carrots

However there are lots of other veggies you can add too! For example red pepper and courgette.

Some recipes, including the BBC’s hidden veggie spaghetti bolognese, recommend cooking your veg first, then putting it into a blender or food processor to chop it down into a paste.

I personally put raw carrot, onion and celery into my Kenwood MinI Chopper then give them a blast (I have to do it in batches as it’s quite small) for around a minute. This creates a very finely chopped paste.

I then fry the veg in a little olive oil over a medium heat in a wide-based pan to soften it before adding the beef mince and finally chopped tomatoes to make up the sauce.

This is just my preferred way of doing it, so I’m not transferring cooked veg from pan to the food processor and then back into the pan again.

The idea of hiding veg in the sauce is primarily to make sure your kids are getting the nutrients from a varied diet. However at some point we all want our kids to actually enjoy their veg!

I recommend putting some veg on the side of their meal, just so the option is there for them to eat a little carrot and broccoli. This way you know they’re eating some in the actual sauce, but you’re also encouraging them to try veg in its real form. Repeated exposure is really key to getting fussy eaters used to different foods.

Some days you may have great success, and others not so much. Try to relax and not stress out too much if you can only get veg into your toddler by sneaking it in the sauce!

You may also like:

Weaning routine and meal plan at 7 months

How to make homemade baby food

How to cook spaghetti bolognese for kids

I use a large Le Creuset pan to cook our bolognese sauce, however a wide based pan or saucepan is absolutely fine.

It’s important to brown the mince all over before adding the chopped tomatoes as this gives the meat a bit of texture and ensures the sauce has delicious flavour from the beef.

I like to add mixed dried herbs to my recipe – you can buy a pot of Italian herbs from the supermarket or combine a little rosemary and oregano. You only need a small amount but it flavours the sauce really nicely.

Some people swear by adding a splash of milk to a bolognese sauce too to make it really rich. Why not give it a try!

Most experts would tell you a true bolognese needs bacon or lardons added to the recipe. I don’t add any to this dish, because I try to keep the salt content as low as I can and it’s a midweek meal. We save treats like bacon for weekends!

Spaghetti bolognese recipe for baby and family

Now onto my family recipe for spaghetti bolognese! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

If you’re looking for more family meal inspiration then check out my post with toddler dinner ideas.

Ingredients

400g beef mince
1 onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 stick celery finely chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 low salt beef stock cube
Splash Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp dried mixed herbs (find an Italian mix or use rosemary and oregano)
Spaghetti

Instructions

If making hidden veg sauce then add veg to a food processor and blitz into a fine paste (around 1 to 2 minutes).
Heat olive oil in a wide-based pan and add beef mince. Fry until brown.
Add your onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook over a medium heat for another 3 to 5 minutes until veg is soft. Add the beef stock cube, crumbling it or mashing it with a wooden spoon until it dissolves.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes. Half fill the empty can with water from the tap and pour into the pan. Add a splash of Worcestershire Sauce and two teaspoons of dried mixed herbs. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Meanwhile cook spaghetti according to the instructions on the pack.
Serve with a green salad or garlic bread.

Bolognese pasta with spaghetti (pasta with minced meat). Recipe at home

Contents

Bolognese is a thick gravy consisting of cream, fried onions, minced meat and crushed tomatoes. The sauce goes well with spaghetti and other pasta. The calorie content of the product varies within 116 kcal per 100 g of raw materials. The indicator will be higher if the recipe includes additional ingredients in the form of vegetables, herbs and spices.

Classic recipe

Spaghetti Bolognese with minced meat, the recipe for which involves the use of tomatoes canned in its own juice, turns out to be quite satisfying and nutritious.

It is permissible to prepare a delicacy for lunch and dinner.

Ingredients needed

Ingredients that you may need to make your own spaghetti Bolognese with minced meat are listed below:

canned tomatoes in their own juice - 500 g;
turnip - 75 g;
olive oil - 30 ml;
minced meat - 600 g;
oregano, basil, parsley - as needed;
sweet pepper - 200 g;
salt, ground dried pepper - at your discretion;
spaghetti - 250 g;
grated hard cheese - 100 g;
garlic - 2 cloves.

You can use cilantro or dill sprigs instead of parsley leaves. The above ingredients will be enough to make 4 servings.

Step-by-step cooking process

A step-by-step description of how to make your own spaghetti Bolognese is displayed in the following steps:

Onions with garlic must be washed, peeled, and then cut into halves and small cubes, respectively. After half the garlic, you need to crush with the flat side of the knife and finely chop.
Pour olive oil into a large saucepan, heat it up and fry the chopped vegetables over low heat, stirring occasionally until golden brown.
Then you need to add the minced meat and cook the meat sauce for 10 minutes.
Rinse the bell peppers, remove the seeds and inner membranes, and then cut into small cubes.
Next, you need to add it to the minced meat, mix and cook for about 5 minutes.
Tomatoes must be peeled, placed in a blender bowl and chopped at high speed, putting the mass into a saucepan with the rest of the ingredients.
After adding salt and pepper, you need to add spicy spices and herbs, stew the sauce over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
Pour liquid into a container, boil it and boil spaghetti in it for 10 minutes.
Drain pasta into a colander, allowing excess liquid to drain. At the end, it is necessary to combine the product with minced meat sauce, pouring in olive oil and mixing the composition until smooth.

Rules for serving, decoration

After cooking, it is advisable to arrange the treat on portioned plates, sprinkled with chopped cheese on top. If desired, it is permissible to decorate the delicacy with chopped green onions on top.

With minced turkey

Spaghetti Bolognese with minced meat, the recipe for which uses turkey as a meat ingredient, suitable for baby food. At the same time, the calorie content of the treat will not be very high. Therefore, the product is allowed to be included in the diet menu.

Ingredients needed

You can make your own ground turkey dish with the ingredients listed in the following table:

Garlic 3 cloves

To give the sauce a spicy and rich taste, it is possible to supplement its composition with fragrant spices.

Step-by-Step Cooking Process

You can create a flavorful minced turkey dish by following these steps:

Onions with garlic and carrots must be peeled, washed, and then placed in a blender and ground.
Next, you need to fry the resulting mass in olive oil for 5 minutes.
Then transfer the roast to a bowl, fry in a saucepan for 5 minutes. ground turkey.
In the process of heat treatment, salt and pepper and tomato paste diluted in boiling water should be included, thoroughly mixed and brought to readiness under a closed lid.
At this time, in a slightly salted liquid, boil the pasta until tender and turn it over in a colander. After it is necessary to combine with the sauce and let the dish brew for 10 minutes.

Rules for serving, decoration

When serving, the finished product must be decorated with chopped dill or parsley. If necessary, the delicacy can be supplemented with any sauce. As the latter, garlic or based on sour cream is suitable.

With minced pork

Spaghetti Bolognese with minced pork sauce becomes tender and juicy. The recipe involves the use of a minimum set of food products, which allows you to prepare a dish within 40 minutes.

Ingredients needed

To create your own spaghetti Bolognese with minced pork, you need to purchase the following products:

water - at your discretion;
basil and parsley, as needed;
turnip - 150 g;
olive-based oil for frying;
ground pepper - optional;
tomatoes - 400 g;
salt - as needed;
spaghetti - 200 g;
minced meat - 600 g;
garlic - 2 cloves.

Minced pork can be supplemented with beef meat. As a result, the sauce will turn out more juicy and soft.

If fresh tomatoes are not available, tomato paste or sauce can be used. However, the sauce will turn out less appetizing and fragrant.

Approximately 8 servings can be made from the indicated quantity of ingredients.

Step-by-step cooking process

The detailed process for making minced pork pasta is described in the steps below:

Rinse the tomatoes under running water, making small cross cuts on their surface. Next, the vegetables will need to be lowered for about 60 seconds. in boiling water, and then remove the skin.
Then grate the tomatoes on a vegetable grater or puree with a blender.
Onion must be peeled, washed and finely chopped with a knife.
Garlic will need to be peeled, finely chopped, and greens washed and finely chopped.
Add olive oil or sunflower seed oil to a saucepan, fry in it for 3 minutes. onion and half of the prepared garlic.
Next, you need to place the minced meat in a saucepan and cook, stirring the product occasionally, for 5 minutes.
After that, add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and bring to a homogeneous mass, extinguishing the composition on a minimum heat under a closed lid for 10 minutes.
After the allotted time, parsley with basil, garlic should be added to the saucepan and mixed well, covered with a lid and removed from heat.
Boil in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water for 10 minutes. spaghetti, and then recline in a colander, allowing excess liquid to drain. Then you can use the pasta for its intended purpose.

Serving instructions, decoration

After mixing spaghetti with meat sauce, it is recommended to complement the dish with fresh basil leaves. If desired, you can additionally serve a vegetable-based salad to the table.

With mushrooms

Spaghetti topped with minced meat and sauce is a popular Italian dish. They are in great demand in many countries around the world.

Bolognese pasta with spaghetti, recipe with mushrooms.

The product acquires a rich aroma and taste due to the fact that champignons are present in the composition. As a result, the treat becomes quite satisfying and tasty.

Ingredients needed

Ingredients needed to make a flavorful Mushroom Flavored Spaghetti Bolognese are listed below:

ground beef - 500 g;
pepper - 2 g;
kupaty turkey - 120 g;
olive oil - optional;
skimmed milk - 125 ml;
chopped onion - 1 cup;
tomatoes, canned without skin - 250 g;
rosemary - 25 g;
salt - 2 g;
spaghetti - 350 g;
champignons - 250 g.

Oyster mushrooms or forest mushrooms can be used instead of champignons. They will make the delicacy tastier and give a rich aroma.

Step-by-step cooking process

You can create a mushroom-based dish at home by following the steps below:

Spaghetti should be boiled in a lightly salted liquid, according to the manufacturer's instructions on the package.
Drain cooked pasta into a colander to remove excess liquid and return to the pot.
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan.
Then you need to gut the kupaty and place in a saucepan, add the peeled and chopped onion with minced meat and stew for 2 minutes, stirring the mass occasionally.
After that, you need to add mushrooms with rosemary and cook the components for another 5 minutes.
You will need to add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to a minimum and cover the contents with a lid, extinguishing the mixture for about 3 minutes.
Next, you will need to add salt with pepper and milk, sweating for another 2 minutes.

Serving instructions, decoration

After cooking, pasta should be topped with sauce and topped with shredded cheese. If necessary, treats can be decorated with chopped fresh herbs.

With minced chicken

Spaghetti Bolognese with minced meat, the recipe of which is suitable for serving at the table at lunchtime and in the evening, becomes very appetizing and juicy. The product is not too fatty and low-calorie. This is due to the fact that the sirloin part of the chicken acts as the meat component.

Ingredients needed

Ingredients needed to make Spaghetti Bolognese with Minced Chicken are listed below:

herbs - your choice;
chicken fillet - 700 g;
olive oil - 45 ml;
tomatoes - 800 g;
spaghetti - 400 g;
salt with spices - to your taste;
hard cheese - as needed;
garlic - 4 cloves.

We recommend using fennel with parsley, paprika and hot pepper as spices.

Approximately 70 ml of red wine can be added to the sauce if desired. An alcoholic drink will add a spicy flavor and aroma to the delicacy.

The above ingredients are enough to make about 6 servings.

Step-by-step cooking process

Spaghetti with minced chicken is possible by following the steps below:

Chicken fillet will need to be rinsed under running water, dried and then cut into medium-sized pieces.
After that, the meat and peeled garlic must be placed in a blender bowl and ground or passed through a meat grinder.
Then spices and salt should be added to the minced meat to taste, thoroughly whisking and stirring the resulting mass.
Pour olive oil into a frying pan and cook the minced meat on a medium heat, stirring the ingredients occasionally.
Tomatoes will need to be skinned and grated with a grater, adding to the minced meat. The composition should be stirred and darkened until cooked.
Spaghetti must be boiled until done. The liquid should be slightly salty.

Serving instructions, decoration

At the end of cooking, the pasta must be combined with the sauce. It is recommended to sprinkle the composition on top with either chopped herbs or cheese.

With tomato paste

Spaghetti Bolognese with minced meat, the recipe for which involves the use of tomato paste instead of fresh tomatoes, can be supplemented with dry red wine.

This makes the sauce spicy and aromatic.

Ingredients needed

Spaghetti Bolognese with minced meat can be made with tomato paste from the following ingredients:

ground beef - 100 g;
pepper - 2 g;
dry red wine - 30 ml;
basil leaves - 5 g;
turnip - 40 g;
olive oil - 30 ml;
tomato-based paste - 50 g;
celery - 40 g;
salt - 2 g;
spaghetti - 70 g;
cheese - 20 g;
garlic - 2 cloves.

For the preparation of the sauce, it is advisable to use a non-stick saucepan with a thick base.

Spaghetti must be made from durum wheat varieties. As a result, it will not boil and stick together.

If desired, minced meat can be made from pork and beef, taken in equal quantities.

Step-by-step cooking process

The step-by-step process for making spaghetti with tomato paste is described in the following steps:

Celery with onions and garlic with basil must be peeled, washed and finely chopped.
Then fry the first 2 ingredients in a saucepan in olive oil until golden brown.
It is required to add minced meat to the vegetables and mix everything well, frying the components until they are fully cooked.
After that you will need to add tomato paste, salt and pepper, basil and garlic and a little water, stir well and sweat the ingredients until thickened.
At this stage, pour in the wine and stir, simmering for about 2 more minutes.
Spaghetti will need to be boiled until tender, 7 minutes.
Parmesan cheese must be chopped on a fine grater, and then put in a saucepan, adding pasta and stirring everything well.

Rules for serving, decoration

The product is recommended to be consumed hot, supplemented with a vegetable salad.

With cream

Spaghetti with minced meat and sauce is quite nutritious and appetizing. Therefore, the dish should be consumed in a small amount so that there is no heaviness in the stomach.

Ingredients needed

Making your own spaghetti Bolognese with cream is possible with the following products:

basil - 4 leaves;
ground beef - 500 g;
turnip - 75 g;
olive oil - 45 ml;
pepper - as needed;
tomatoes - 500 g;
celery - 2 sprigs;
cream - 125 ml;
salt - as needed;
cheese - 100 g;
tomatoes in own juice - 600 g

Step-by-step cooking process

The step-by-step preparation of a dish based on minced meat and cream is described in the following steps:

Peel the onion, then cut into cubes and fry until soft in olive oil.
Tomatoes and chopped celery should be added next to the onions. It is required to extinguish the components for 15 minutes. over low heat, stirring constantly.
After that, you will need to add cream, salt and pepper to the sauce and stir everything again.
In another saucepan, fry the minced meat in olive oil until cooked through.
Then add the sauce, chopped fresh tomatoes into the finished meat product and simmer until they are fully cooked.
Spaghetti must be boiled according to the manufacturer's instructions on the package, mixed with the sauce and served.

Rules for serving, decoration

It is recommended to divide the treat into portioned plates and supplement with basil leaves. If necessary, the dish can be poured on top with tomato or sour cream sauce.

Helpful Tips and Tricks

Helpful Cooking Tips explain how to make a better and faster treat:

in the process of making minced meat, to improve the taste of the dish, add onion and garlic, as well as salt and pepper;
for the preparation of the sauce, use minced meat based on pork and beef meat;
when preparing the sauce, it is recommended to cut the vegetables as small as possible so that they are completely dissolved during the cooking process;
Properly cooked pasta should be firm and springy on the outside;
when using milk and wine in the recipe, milk must be added to the rest of the ingredients first, and wine after the milk boils;
when the spaghetti is in a colander, it is not recommended to rinse it with cold water, as this will adversely affect its taste;
Spaghetti is recommended to use only those made from durum wheat varieties;
Tomatoes used to make Spaghetti Bolognese must be ripe, juicy and red;
simmer the sauce for at least 2 hours on low heat with the lid closed or slightly open;
minced meat for the dish is recommended to use self-produced, in which there are no veins, skin and fat.

Spaghetti, made on the basis of Bolognese sauce and minced meat, is nutritious, because it contains vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal functioning of the whole organism. The delicacy recipe allows you to use bell pepper with chili, spices and herbs as auxiliary components.

Spaghetti Bolognese Pasta Video

Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe:

Homemade Pasta Bolognese Recipe

02/16/2018

Did you know that in Italian restaurants a minced meat dish stewed in a thick tomato sauce with vegetables is not combined in one plate with spaghetti, but served with egg noodles - tagliatelle pasta? The dish is called Bolognese stew, or pasta bolognese.

table of contents

Bolognese Pasta Recipe: The Basics
Chopped meat
Lots of fresh vegetables
Red or white wine?
What to serve Bolognese with?
Ingredients
Cooking

Would you like to try Bolognese stew in Italy? Look for "tagliatelle al ragout" or "stew alla bolognese" on the menu of an Italian restaurant. Better yet, make the famous bolognese pasta at home with this step-by-step recipe to recreate a real gastronomic miracle in your kitchen!

Bolognese Pasta Recipe Basics

Minced Meat

The traditional recipe calls for beef, although a mixture of beef and pork is allowed. To give the bolognese pasta the flavor of smoked meats, sometimes a few slices of pancetta are added to the minced meat - pork belly, dried with spices (rosemary and sage).

When choosing beef, give preference to a cut that needs to be stewed for a long time. For example, a shank or a shoulder blade is ideal, they have a rich meaty taste. Of course, it is best to buy a whole piece of meat and cut it yourself with a knife or grind it in a meat grinder. If this is not possible, then buy ready-made minced meat, of good quality and always fresh.

More recipes for Italian pasta and "Soviet" pasta with minced meat in a large review article.

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Lots of fresh vegetables

To make the bolognese tasty and rich, be sure to take: onions - for flavor, carrots - adds sweetness, celery - prevents the meat from darkening. Garlic is not a mandatory component, but a couple of cloves added at the initial stage when frying vegetables will not be superfluous.

As for the tomato component, variations are acceptable here. You can use pureed fresh tomatoes, tomatoes in their own juice or concentrated tomato paste. In the first two cases, additional efforts will be required, you need to constantly stir and make sure that the tomatoes do not burn. If you add tomato paste, then the taste of the stew will be radically different, it will turn out to be more saturated, and the stewing process itself is greatly simplified.

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Red or white wine?

Wine adds a special flavor to the stew, so be sure to add it. It is best to take dry red wine, it goes very well with the dish. If there is only a bottle of white in the refrigerator, then use it, but only on the condition that it is dry! Dessert and semi-sweet wines will not work.

Bolognese with what?

Bologna believes that stew and tagliatelle are just made for each other. Tagliatelle - egg paste, flat and rough, has a porous structure, due to which it perfectly absorbs meat sauce. The width of an ideal strip of noodles should be 8 millimeters - this is the standard for tagliatelle adopted by the Italian Institute of Nutrition at the initiative of the inhabitants of Bologna in 1972 year. Uncompromising Italians are allowed to complete the preparation of Bolognese pasta with a single addition - a pinch of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Parmesan cheese enhances the taste and aroma of the dish.

In addition to pasta bolognese, meat ragout is suitable for creating more complex dishes, such as lasagne or pizza bolognese. Either way, it will be delicious!

Total cooking time: 3 hours
Cooking time: 2 hours
Yield: 4 servings

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Ingredients

beef (pulp) - 500 g
large onion - 2 pcs.
petiole celery - 1 stalk
large carrots - 1 pc.
garlic - 3-4 teeth.
tomato paste - 80 g
dry red wine - 100 ml
butter - 20 g
olive oil - 30 ml
dry Italian herbs - 0.5 tsp.
bay leaf - 1 pc.
salt and pepper to taste
water - 250 ml
tagliatelle for serving sauce

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Cooking

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First you need to prepare the meat and vegetables. For the stew, I used a beef shank, cleaned the meat from large tendons and ground it through a meat grinder with a large grate (if there is no meat grinder, you can finely chop with a knife). I peeled the onion, garlic and carrots and cut them into cubes with an edge of about 0.5 cm. Be sure to add celery - it is not customary to cook Bologna stew without it, the taste and color will be completely different. You will need one large petiole, also diced.
Next, fry the ingredients. I heated up the olive oil and butter in a frying pan. I first fell asleep vegetables - it should turn out to be a decent slide, in terms of volume of vegetables it should be about the same as the meat component.
Fry over medium heat, without a lid, stirring with a spatula. After about 10 minutes, the vegetables should be soft and the onions should start to turn golden.
It's time to send the meat to the pan. While stirring, I fried the ground beef so that it was well browned - about 15-20 minutes, kneading it with a spatula so that there were no large particles. The beef at this stage should be fried, and not just stewed, otherwise the stew will not have a characteristic meaty taste.
I poured in dry red wine and added tomato paste. Mixing thoroughly, fry everything together for another 2-3 minutes, so that the alcohol evaporates and the tomato paste is fried.
Added 1 cup water (or vegetable broth), salt and pepper to taste, bay leaf, and Italian dried herb mix. I reduced the heat to a minimum, covered with a lid and simmered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. If the water boils away strongly, then it can be added, the main thing is to make sure that nothing burns.
Extinguishing time can be extended up to 4 hours. The longer the stew is stewed, the richer it will turn out to taste. You can cook not on the stove, but after frying, pour into a heat-resistant form, pour water and simmer for 3-4 hours under a lid at a temperature of 130-140 degrees. To prevent moisture from evaporating, you can put a couple of sheets of foil under the lid.
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