Pasta Bolognese Recipe

This is a great base for lots of recipes. I always make a large quantity so that I can freeze a batch. I used to add wine to this recipe just after the tomato puree but I don’t think it is missed. This is an ideal dish for babies from around 9-months-old.

Prep time: 30 mins, cooking time: 2 hours

Feeds: 8 adult servings, a bunch of baby servings so plenty to go in the freezer

Ingredients

• 1kg lean Mince Beef
• 100g pack of un-smoked bacon lardons
• 2 small-medium sized onions
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery
• Half a box of mushrooms
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 x 400g Tin of tomatoes and / or passata
• 1 Bay leaf, sprinkling of Oregano, basil and pepper to taste.
• 2 cups of milk
• 200g Tomato purée

• 400g Tin of Butterbeans - all babies I know, love them!
• 1 tbsp of oats  - this makes it go further
• Several fresh baby tomatoes
• Salt (I started adding this back into my recipes when my daughter turned 7)

Method

• Chop vegetables into chunks then blast the food processor
• Heat oil in pan, cook bacon lardons, once starting to chnage colour, add veg on a medium heat along with the finely chopped garlic
• Remove veg and add the meat, cook on medium heat
• Once meat is brown, stir in 100g of tomato puree, keep stirring for 1 minute so thoroughly mixed in (add veg in again if necessary)
• If using oats, add them at this point, mix in.
• Add in herbs, 1 cup of milk and the tin of tomatoes and butter beans
• Mix everything together in a large pot (ceramic if you have it - this can be a slow cooker pot covered in foil), it caramelises the bolognese.
• Cook in oven on 150C for 2 hours. Every 30 mins, stir, add more milk.

Weaning: This is a great dish from six-months-old but possibly easier for the baby to get stuck into this from around 9-months-old. Since then, it has been a firm favourite. Spaghetti or big pasta tubes is the easiest pasta to start with. Just a warning, it’s a messy business though….!

Tip: I love cooking Bolognese in my Le Creuset or Slow Cooker pot, the milk combined with these pans make it really creamy. However, if you need to go out, cook this in the Slow Cooker for 4 hours on High, you make need to adjust the amount of liquid in it as you won’t need as much.

Recipes: This can also be used and adapted for lasagne, Cottage Pie, Chilli Con Carne. If you want to only make 500g, just cut veg down by half too.

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