Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

Spaghetti Bolognese is one of the most popular dishes worldwide, with each country sharing their own special techniques to cook this delicious dish. Who doesn't love hot pasta drenched in a thick, meaty tomato sauce! It's super easy to make and most of the cooking time is hands off.

Origins of Spaghetti Bolognese:

Spaghetti Bolognese was introduced in the late 18th Century, originating in Imogla, a city located in Italy, west of Bologna. The dish was first mentioned in a cookbook published in 1891, which is now the most famous Italian cookbook of modern times, featuring more than 800 amazing dishes.

The sauce called for mainly lean veal fillet alongside pancetta, butter, onion and carrot. It was also stated in the cookbook that the taste could be made even more pleasant with the addition of small pieces of mushroom, a few slices of truffle, or chicken liver.

As a final touch, it was suggested to include half a glass of cream to the sauce when it was finished cooking to make it taste smoother.

Nowadays, traditional Italian cooks use tagilette, as the sauce tends to fall off the spaghetti easier and tomato has also now been introduced as either a purée or concentrated paste.

The Secret to the Best Bolognese Sauce:

Everyone needs a delicious spaghetti Bolognese recipe in their lives and this version uses 1 tablespoon of olive oil, canned diced tomatoes and tomato passata, along with 500 grams of lean beef. It consists of very wholesome ingredients!

The base for this sauce is made from a combination of diced onion, carrot and celery cooked in olive oil. Italians refer to it as ‘soffritto' and use it as the foundation for other sauces, soups and stews.

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic
5-6 leaves of fresh basil, or 2 tsp dried basil
400g canned diced tomatoes
500g tomato passata/crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 tsp dried oregano
500g ground beef, extra lean
Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
500g spaghetti

Method

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large frying pan/Dutch oven, along with your diced onions, carrot, celery and minced garlic, on low heat for 10 minutes.

Add in the ground beef, break it up and cook until no longer pink inside. (Make sure you stir continuously).

Pour in the diced and crushed tomatoes/passata with water, a pinch of salt and pepper.

Sprinkle in the dried oregano and torn basil leaves (reserve a few small ones) and bring everything to a boil.

Turn the heat down once boiling point is reached and let it simmer with a lid ajar for 2 1/2-3 hours, stirring once in a while.

Boil a large pot of water for the spaghetti once the sauce is almost done and follow the package instructions for cooking.

Drain spaghetti and add pasta to the sauce, stir gently and remove from heat.

Top with reserved basil leaves and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.