Bolognese Pasta Bake (also sugar-free)

Okay, so after my first two posts you might just be all Chinese food-ed out (if not I'll post some more soon, yum 😋). After Chinese, Italian inspired food has to be another of my favourite cuisines. This particular recipe came about as a way to get as many of your daily veg portions into one meal without a picky 5 year old realising what she was eating (she's much older now, but still loves this recipe and even makes it herself).

Typically this isn't a recipe that I'd worry about anyone putting sugar into, but it you're more used to dumping a jar of Dolmio (other pasta sauces are available - Big H) into a pan of mince and onions then this is going to be a taste sensation for you, oh, and you get to feel good about eating it too (well, apart from the crispy cheesy topping, but I'm not forcing you to eat that, if you don't want it I'll eat it)!

So, what do you need - this will comfortably feed 3-4 people:

• 250g of lean minced beef
• 2 tbsp of garlic puree
• 2 tbsp of mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
• 4-5 cubes of frozen spinach (like this)
• 200g of closed cup mushrooms, peeled and quartered
• 500g of passata (you can use fresh tomatoes, but its an unecessary faff)
• 250g of pasta (your choice, but I prefer fusilli or conchigilie)
• 150g of grated mature cheddar (I use Lactofree as my daughter has a milk allergy)
• Salt and pepper to season

As with all of my recipes, before you embark on gathering all of this together make sure you check a few of your ingredients as some purees can contain processed sugar. It's usually pretty cheap and easy to grab ones without sugar from the fresh vegetable aisle in your supermarket (easy sugar-free cooking is all about checking the labels on your produce). The same can be said of passata, although I find Napolina to be pretty good for the quality of their produce.

Preparation:

Prepare all of your vegetables and ingredients as set out above and set aside into separate bowls (this makes sooo much easier as you cook).

Boil up a pan of water, with a pinch of salt & a splash of olive oil added, for the pasta.

Pre-heat your oven to about 180℃.

Cooking:

1. Add the pasta of your choice to the pan of boiling water, once boiling again turn down to a steady simmer (remember to stir from time to time otherwise it'll stick to the pan);
2. Add the oil, garlic, onion, carrot and celery to a large pan (i prefer a wok, and use it in pretty much all my cooking) along with half of the mixed herbs and a bit of salt and pepper. Saute on a medium heat until the onions start to go see through and the other veggies soften;
3. Then, add the minced beef and cook through until all the meat is well browned (i.e. you can't see any red meat anymore);
4. Now add the mushrooms and the spinach, and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly;
5. Finally, add your passata and the remaining herbs to the pan and stir thoroughly. Also at this stage, if you're a real sweet freak (I say this as the carrots should provide plenty of sweetness) you could add a squirt or two of ketchup, but I recommend a sugar free alternative if you absolutely have to go there.  You should then cook this through for about 10-15 minutes;
6. This should also be the ideal time to drain your pasta, make sure to empty it into a colander and rinse with freshly boiled water (from the kettle, or one of those fancy-ass taps if you have one). Then add it to the bolognese in the pan and stir thoroughly;
7. Once everything is cooked through (see above), transfer the contents of your pan into a large oven-proof baking dish and cover with the cheese. Place in the pre-heated oven for around 20 minutes or until the cheese starts to go golden brown;
8. Remove from the oven and serve immediately, enjoy!

This is a great dish, and can be served on its own, or with a light salad and/or perhaps some garlic bread.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe and can feel guilt free about eating my homemade takeaway food! I do a lot of my cooking on the fly, and always adjust the amounts of certain ingredients to suit my own tastes, so the quantities here might need a bit of tweaking to suit yours, but I find they're great for most palates.