Easy and Hearty Summer Bolognese. I most certainly did it again with this creative take on spaghetti bolognese – which is, of course, an old favorite but a pretty tired one.
This version is quite light, and it’s such a great idea to have some raw ingredients in there rather than have everything cooked down into the sauce, and the lemon juice and red wine vinegar add a wonderful zing.
I’d suggest you reserve some extra pasta water to toss through the pasta or add to the meat mixture before serving this summer bolognese, just in case it starts to look a little dry.
I’ve made only a few modifications to the original recipe. I’ve omitted the olives, basil leaves, and lemon rind (due to fussy tastebuds in this household) and used spring onion, spinach leaves, and fresh parsley instead. I also used dried instead of fresh thyme and added a little paprika.
Obviously, my presentation of this Summer Bolognese dish doesn’t hold a candle, but I reckon arranging the components in the pan looks pretty neat.
Easy And Hearty Summer Bolognese
Ingredients
¾ pound ground beef (minced beef)
1 stalk spring onions
½ pound spaghetti - approx ¼ gram grams per person- 1 tablespoon garlic oil
- ¼ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
½ punnet cherry tomatoes - halved (around 100 grams)
1 handful parsley
1 handful baby spinach
1 handful Parmesan cheese - shaved or grated, to serve
Instructions
- Heat the garlic oil in a frypan over high heat and add the mince, spring onion, paprika, thyme, and chilli flakes. Cook, breaking up the mince until browned (about 6 minutes).
- While the mince is cooking, set a large saucepan of salted water to boil for the pasta and add the pasta when ready. Cook according to packet instructions (about 10 minutes).
- Once the beef has been browned, stir through the salt, pepper, sugar, and tomato paste and cook for a few more minutes. Then add the white wine and cook for another few minutes until the wine has reduced a little.
- Drain the pasta once ready and toss it with lemon juice and red wine vinegar.
- Push the meat to one side of the frypan and add the pasta to one side, twirling the pasta with a pair of tongs as you lower it onto the frypan to make it stand up a little (Donna’s special trick!).
- Arrange the cherry tomato, parsley, and spinach leaves around the pan and top with parmesan and extra cracked pepper if desired.
