Hayley's World

Syn Free Bolognese Bake

For the bolognese -

What you will need -

·         500g 5% or less beef mince

·         1 finely diced medium sized onion

·         1 finely diced medium sized carrot

·         150g finely chopped button mushrooms

·         1 tsp lazy garlic

·         Half tsp chilli flakes

·         Fresh torn leaves of basil

·         1 beef oxo cube

·         1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs

·         2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

·         Black pepper

·         1 tin chopped tomatoes

·         1 carton passata (Or i sometimes just use 2 tins of chopped tomatoes instead)

·         200ml water

·         1 tbsp tomato puree

Method

•   Fry the mince until browned with the beef oxo cube crumbled in.  Add in the onion, carrot, garlic, chilli and mushrooms to the beef and fry until softened.
•   Then add in the mixed dried herbs and fresh basil.
•   Add in 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and let it sizzle and reduce.
• Then add the chopped tomatoes, passata, tomato puree, 200 ml water and lots of cracked black pepper.
• Stir and cover loosely with a lid or some foil making sure there's a little room for the heat to escape.
• Simmer away on low stirring occasionally for at least an hour, this will create a gorgeous ragu. I usually have mine simmering for a couple of hours. Don’t be afraid to add a little more water if it becomes too thick!

For the bakes -

• Mix 100g cooked pasta shapes per person with about 1/5 of the bolognese mixture in an individual dish (I got these ones from sainsburys) 
• Add Hex A Mozzarella on top (allowance varies depending on where you get your mozzarella but most reduced fat ones including the ASDA reduced fat one are 70g for HexA ) 
• Place in the oven on around 200 for around 20 - 25 minutes until golden!