Tonight we cooked spaghetti bolognese using mince, quorn and a variety of vegetables unfortunately we forgot the camera so there are not any photos, but due to the wonderful aromas a few teachers visited us and had a taste. Below is a recipe for you to try and then look at the vegetable alternative:-


Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

200g/7oz lean steak mince or Quorn mince
1 onion, finely chopped
4 large mushrooms, sliced
1 carrot, grated optional
1 400g/14oz tin tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato purée or tomato sauce
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
300g/10½oz dried or fresh spaghetti
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley optional

Method
1. Heat the mince and the onion and fry for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mince is browned and the onions softened.
2. Add mushrooms and carrot, cook for around one minute, then add tinned tomatoes, tomato purée or tomato sauce and freshly ground black pepper. Stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
3. Place the spaghetti in a deep saucepan full of boiling water and cook according to packet instructions, then drain.
4. To serve, divide the cooked spaghetti between four dishes, spoon equal portions of Bolognese sauce over each and sprinkle with parsley or parmesan cheese.

Try making a vegetable alternative by using onions, mushrooms, peppers, courgettes, carrots, green beans the list is endless but make sure all are similar in size for the same cooking time. This seemed to be a favourite with the students.
Try jars of tomato sauces and see which tastes the best, we used tomato and chilli in the vegetable one and it gave a nice kick to the taste.
You could add chilli powder, flakes or a pepper to your mixture rather than buying a tin or jar but do watch how much you add.
Hope you enjoy this recipe.
Next week we have another Ready Steady Cook with two experienced cooking teachers.