Classic Spaghetti Bolognese {Oven or Hob}
This easy Spaghetti Bolognese recipe is my best yet! It’s rich, comforting and delicious, perfect for batch cooking and the whole family will love it.
Servings: 4 People
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 100 g Pancetta The thinly sliced type
- 500 g Beef mince See notes
- 1 Onion Finely chopped
- 4 Garlic cloves Crushed
- 1 Carrot Large | Finely diced
- 1 Celery stick Finely diced
- 1 Beef stock cube
- 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp Dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 3 Bay leaves
- 150 ml Red wine
- 400 g Tinned chopped tomatoes (1 x tin) Plus 1/2 tin of water
- 2 tbsp Tomato puree
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 15 g Fresh basil Very finely chopped
To Serve:
- Spaghetti or your choice of pasta
- Parmesan cheese Grated over the top
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil in large pan. Very thinly slice the pancetta. Add it to the pan and fry over a medium heat for 5 minutes until it's starting to colour and brown.
- Add the mince and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, breaking up as it cooks, until it's browned all over.
- Remove the mince and pancetta into a bowl and set aside.
- Put the remaining oil in the pan and add onions and garlic. Cook for 5 mins until they're starting to soften.
- Add the remaining veg and cook for a further 5-10 minutes until it's starting to soften.
- Add the mince and pancetta back to the pan. Add the crumbled stock cube, dried herbs, salt, bay leaves, and stir well. Add the wine, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, Worcestershire sauce and plenty of pepper.
- Bring to a simmer. Then:
To cook on the Hob:
- Cooked for 1hr-1.5 hours on hob at a gentle simmer until thick and rich. Stir in the fresh basil before serving (or before freezing).
To cook in the Oven:
- Cook in the oven for 1.5-2 hours at 150℃/300F fan, 170℃/325F or Gas Mark 2. Stir in the fresh basil before serving (or before freezing).
- (You may need to add a little more water during cooking if it gets too thick.)
To Serve:
- Cook your spaghetti before serving, or your chosen accompaniment.
- Add a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan (optional).
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Notes
Nutritional information: The nutritional information does not include any spaghetti or other dishes to serve.
Base vegetables: Chopped onion, carrot and celery. You can replace fresh onion, carrot and celery with a frozen bag of ‘soffritto’, which comes already pre-chopped and all together in one bag. (I love this cheat for lots of recipes!) It might be called ‘vegetable base mix’ or something similar in some supermarkets. If you are using frozen, make sure you give a little more time to it browning and cook until all the water has evaporated.
Pancetta: Use the thinly sliced type. Some packs of pancetta are 90g or 105g, either is near enough for this recipe! You can leave it out if you prefer, but it really does add to the flavour here. You can swap for smoky bacon if you can’t find it.
Beef mince: Ideally I’d use 5% or 10% fat for this recipe, otherwise it might be a bit fatty, but it’s down to personal preference. You can drain some of the fat if you need to. If you're in the US you can use ground beef or hamburger meat.
To freeze: Like most beef mince recipes, this is a fantastic make-ahead freezer recipe! Making a few batches at once is always a good idea if you have space. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then portion into freezer-proof containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 1038mg | Potassium: 1050mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 3037IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 6mg