Best Bolognaise Sauce
(aka ‘How many vegetables can you cram in?’)
Week 6 of ‘Iso’ and there is light at the end of the tunnel! New daily cases of the dreaded Covid 19 are in single figures in NSW, the kids are going back to school on May 11 th for 1 day a week (hooray!) and other states are lifting certain restrictions (with hopefully NSW following suit!). Happy days! Now, this week’s recipe is very much my own. If you ask any of my family (friends might also know) then I am well known for trying to get as many vegetables as possible into my cooking. You can never have too many in my opinion!
Benefits of this recipe:
Oh so easy (and cheap) to make and kids love it! You can cram as many vegetables in as you wish, especially the ones the children wouldn’t normally eat. Let your imagination fly! Just make sure they are chopped up nice and small and that you have a balance.
Minced beef – is a source of high quality protein, iron, zinc, choline, selenium, creatine, vitamin D and several of the B vitamins. A fantastic source of vitamin B 12 which is essential for energy production and very difficult to source from elsewhere in the diet. Try and buy organic and lean to ensure a clean source and lower saturated fat levels. This recipe is half and half meat and vegetables, thus ensuring balance in the diet.
Tinned tomatoes/tomato puree – Tomatoes are an excellent source of the antioxidant lycopene which is known to reduce the risk of heart disease. They also contain vitamin C, potassium, folate and Vitamin K. Cooking the tomatoes releases more lycopene.
Basil – is a herb with a sweet and pungent flavour that is known for its antioxidant and natural antibacterial properties. Basil also contains vitamin K (for blood clotting), manganese, iron, vitamins A and C, calcium and magnesium. It is used to treat wounds, skin infections, digestive disorders and is known to keep away mild colds and flu.
Extra virgin olive oil - Good for cooking, extra virgin olive oil is quite resistant to heat.
Vegetables – I try and get at least 8 vegetables into this dish, but it really depends on what you have available. This makes it a great dish to cook when you have small amounts of different vegetables left at the end of the week. It is also good to cook for visiting children (now we may have people back in our homes again!) as it tends to be very popular! Just try and ensure everything is as organically/locally grown as possible to optimise the nutrient content.
Ingredients:
500g lean minced beef (or lamb, but organic if you can)
400g can chopped tomatoes (organic)
2 tbsp tomato puree (organic if possible)
½ tsp dried basil leaves
Black pepper to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion (diced)
2 or 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 cups mixed vegetables (red capsicum, mushrooms, kale/spinach, green beans, celery, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli)
Method:
1. Dry fry the minced beef in a large heavy based pan until brown ensuring that the mince is evenly cooked and resembles crumbs. Big lumps of meat have never gone down well in my house! Remove the mince to a plate and keep covered.
2. Over a medium to low heat, fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil until softened.
3. Add the vegetables, one at a time to the pan and stir well to combine. I tend to start with capsicum, beans, celery, zucchini, mushrooms and finish off with kale or spinach.
4. If the mixture starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, put in hot water from the kettle to continue to sautee/steam the vegetables rather than adding more oil (or the mixture becomes too oily).
5. Return the meat to the pan, mix well and add tomatoes, puree and pepper to taste.
6. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and add boiled water from the kettle at regular intervals to ensure the sauce does not stick to the pan.
7. Add the basil within the last ten minutes of cooking to retain the flavour.
8. Cooking time is around 30 minutes.
9. Serve with pasta of choice! And a liberal sprinkling of grated/shaved parmesan (or savoury yeast flakes for those requiring a dairy free option).
