My kids love this dish. It’s a great family meal and one I can easily hide some veggies into, which I am having to do more often, with my youngest becoming the fussy one. She has developed an aversion to most vegetables and even certain meats. So I have had to start being a lot more inventive again.
This also works well as a vegetarian option using brown or green lentils in place of the ground beef.
Bolognese Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 large carrot
- 1 courgette
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup of beef vegetable or chicken stock, 240ml
- 500 g of extra lean beef mince use brown or green lentils for vegetarian option
- 3 cups of passata 720ml
- 1 tsp of dried basil
- 1 tsp of dried oregano
- 1 tsp of dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
- handful of mushrooms sliced
- 300 g of dried pasta of choice can use gluten free
- salt and black pepper to season
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- dash or worcestershire sauce
- to top:
- 90 g /3oz of Mozzarella
- 60 g /2oz of Parmesan
- to serve:
- fresh chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Add the mince, onion and garlic to a deep frying pan over a medium high heat and cook until browned.
- Add the carrot, courgette to a food processor and blitz until finely chopped.
- Add this and the mushrooms to the pan, stir and fry for a further couple of minutes.
- Add the herbs, passata, stock, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil and then cover and reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer for 30 mins, until sauce thickens and becomes nice and rich.
- Preheat oven to 200c or 400f (gas mark 6)
- Place the pasta in a saucepan of boiling hot water and cook until al dente - approx 7 mins (you want it to still have a slight bite, as it will continue to cook in the oven).
- Add the pasta to a large oven proof dish.
- Add the bolognese meat sauce and mix well.
- Top with both cheeses.
- Place in oven and bake until cheese has melted and is golden on top. Approx 30mins
- Serve topped with fresh chopped Italian parsley and your choice of sides.
Can I freeze this dish in small portions please.
Thanks Shirley
yes you definitely can 🙂