There’s one recipe that never fails to be met with lots of ‘mmms’ when it’s placed on the dinner table and that is Spaghetti Bolognaise. It’s easy to make and has all of the ingredients you could wish for; hearty meat, a delicious sauce, a sprinkling of cheese and a messy face when you’ve finishing eating.

Now, if you’ve been to Italy then you will know that as a nation we’ve killed the traditional Bolognese recipe. Not only are we using the wrong pasta – a proper Bolognese is partnered with tagliatelle, but we do inexcusable things like add herbs to our recipe. I will hold my hands up and say, I’m guilty of all of these sins!

However, if like myself you are gluten free and living anywhere but London where there is a huge selection of gluten free goodies, you will know how difficult it is to source tagliatelle. It’s one of those rare delicacies that I stock up on when I come across it, usually in farm shops or strangely enough, service stations. I agree that Bolognese with tagliatelle tastes more delicious, the thickness of the pasta soaks up the mince and juices more, but we will have to go on with what we’ve got and let’s face it, I love basil and oregano so they are thrown in to many of my meals for added flavour.

In my recipe, I’ve missed out on some traditional ingredients such as carrots as unfortunately we ate them all with our Sunday roast. But, with a little love and care, a generous glug of wine and some yummy bacon, I can promise you won’t miss them at all.

Little tip: My family go to special measures to obtain David’s Chilli Oil – it really adds depth and flavour to even the blandest of dishes and is perfect for use in chilli’s, spaghetti and curries.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 400g Steak mince
• Olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 rashers bacon
• Sprinkle dried rosemary
• 1 tsp basil
• ½ tsp oregano
• 400g tin plum tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 beef stock cube
• 1-2 tsp chilli oil depending on heat (I used David’s Chilli Oil)
• A good glug of red wine (I just went for it but around 100ml)
• 1 tsp cooking salt
• Generous sprinkle of pepper
• Gluten free spaghetti or tagliatelle
• Dairy free cheese (I usually use Violife)

 

• Heat up 1 tsp olive oil in a medium sized saucepan. Chop up the bacon into squares and add to the pan, heating for 10 minutes or until golden
• Chop up the onion and cook until soft
• Next, throw in the garlic and rosemary and stir in
• Add the mince steak and breakdown, stir until browned
• Add the plum tomatoes, crumble in the beef stock cube and sprinkle in the basil and oregano
• Add the chilli oil and pour in a good glug of wine
• Bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding seasoning as desired
• Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions
• Grate a handful of cheese
• Once the sauce is nice and thick, drain the spaghetti and add the bolognaise on top
• Sprinkle on the cheese and some basil to finish

Buon Appetito!