Hi,
I like to use a slow cooker whenever I can as I find it more economical and most times more tastier. Another advantage is that you can leave the slow cooker on “keep warm” setting and get a hot meal whenever you want.
To get as much flavour as possible into meals made in slow cookers, i like to brown any meat going in, in the fry pan first.
I’ve been making spaghetti bolognese for years, but I decided to measure out and weigh the ingredients the other night as I made it so I can pass it on.
The slow cooker I use is a large 6 litre one, but I’m sure the samller ones work just the same.
Ingredients…
500g Beef Steak Mince, 200g Back Bacon, 2 x 400g tins tomatoes, 1 teaspoon garlic paste, 3 x beef stock cubes, 1 medium onion, 3 medium carrots, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 4 tablespoons tomato puree, 2 tablespoons oregano.
Method…
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over low to moderate heat. Meanwhile, finely chop the onion and add to the frying pan together with the garlic paste and oregano. Fry for three minutes or until onions are soft (but not browned).
Add the contents of the frying pan to a slow cooker set to HIGH.
Clean the frying pan and add the mince to the pan. Place on high heat and fry the mince turning continuously until thoroughly browned.
Add the browned mince to the slow cooker.
Chop the bacon into small squares and add to the frying pan on high heat. Stir fry the bacon until all the water (if any) has evaporated and the bacon has browned.
Add the browned bacon to the slow cooker.
Drain the tomatoes and add to the slow cooker. If you bought unchopped, plum tomatoes, chop then up in the slow cooker with a wooden spatula.
Top and tail the carrots, peel and chop finely.
Add the carrots to the slow cooker together with the tomato puree.
Add three beef stock cubes to 100ml boiling water, when dissolved fully, add to the slow cooker.
Thoroughly stir the ingredients in the slow cooker to mix, and leave on HIGH setting for one hour. Add further water if necessary and reduce the setting of the slow cooker to low for a further hour before serving (or flicking over to “keep warm”).
Serve with spaghetti, cream and grated parmesan cheese.