JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum’s and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

I wanted to first start off this post by putting to bed what a contradiction it may seem to some that I have my weekly post being “Meatless Monday” and suddenly to write a post about the importance of meat might seem strange, however I am very much a believer in the balance of life and diet and whilst I feel passionate about sticking to Meatless Monday, and where possible having my whole family on board too due to the health and environmental benefits, another cause which is very dear to my heart is shopping local, which is effectively what this post is all about.

The benefits: helping to keep and prosper local farm economy and helping the environment through massively diminishing transportation and logistics which go with that, keeping diets natural, seasonal and local and (wherever possible) and organic and free-range too (even better if possible).

Also I am someone who enjoys eating meat, I like the taste of it, but I am a great believer in being mindful in the choices you make of what you eat and where and how you buy it. We all have crazy busy lives, believe me I know, I’ve started writing this post at 4am as I cannot sleep, but a little goes a long way and it seems to me our wallets have more voting power, in a lot of ways, than our political vote these days, so please do SHOP LOCAL, and if possible organic and/or free-range and/or fair-trade if everyone managed a little of this I really do believe we could make a big difference.    

JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

I have chosen an absolute classic comfort food dish for this challenge and chose to use British Beef to create it, before I begin the recipe, I thought I would give you some fascinating facts about the health benefits of beef, which you may or may not know:

  • Beef in naturally rich in protein
  • Beef is a source of iron which helps to reduce tiredness and fatigue
  • Beef provides eight essential vitamins and minerals (Niacin, vitamins B6 and B12, riboflavin, plus zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus) that support good health and wellbeing

My journey to find the perfect bolognese recipe has been a long one, as a child of the 80s/90s I was brought up on the jarred sauce version (as we all were, it was just the way of things then in the UK) but when I took a trip to Paris to stay with a friend studying abroad there whilst I was at uni and she cooked me bolognese from scratch for the first time, my mind was literally blown! And I never looked back. Jump forward another 5 years or so and I was in the world of work and an Brownie Leader in the evening, going off on Brownie-pack-holiday with 20 odd kids to feed nutritious and delicious food for the weekend, along with the other leaders and I picked up a trick which I have never forgotten to grate carrots and courgette into your bolognaise to add both flavour and extra vegetables which basically disappear into the sauce meaning that fussy eaters don’t even register that they are there.  

So on to the dish, we were each provided with a £10 Tesco voucher in order to purchase the ingredients and this is what I bought:

JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}
500g organic British minced Beef, pack of organic carrots, 500g of wholewheat spaghetti, a pack of kallo organic stock cubes (with no nasties), a pack of organic onions, a courgette, a clove of garlic, a tin of chopped Italian tomatoes, a pack of organic celery.
JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}
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Bolognese

Servings 6
Author JamJarGill

Ingredients

  • 500 grams Organic British Steak Mince
  • 1 Organic Onion peeled and diced
  • 3 small or 2 large cloves Garlic peeled and diced
  • 1 tin Italian Chopped Tomatoes
  • 1 Organic Stock Cube crumbled
  • 4 storks Organic Celery diced
  • 500 grams Whole Wheat Spaghetti (I find this goes so much better with red meat based dishes)
  • 1 Courgette grated
  • 1 large Organic Carrot grated

Instructions

  1. Get yourself out a large wok/pan which can accomodate the spaghetti too once cooked and a large pasta pan, fill with water and place the lid on and allow to come to the boil

  2. Grate your carrot, dice your celery and onion and fry off together in your wok with a little olive oil until it turns nice and golden

  3. Add in mince and stir well then add chopped garlic and stir again

  4. Add grated courgette and stir again

    (TIP: I always find it easier to use two wooden spatulas here and toss the ingredients together)

  5. Add tin of tomatoes

  6. And stock cube, and season with salt, pepper and italian seasoning to taste

  7. Then lid on and turn the heat right down whilst you cook your pasta

  8. Add your spaghetti to the boiling water

  9. Once it is all under the water, give it a stir with a fork, this stops it all joining together, then put the lid on and turn the heat down whilst keeping a rolling boil and cook for 10 mins.

  10. Drain your pasta and then add to your wok and combine to create the finished dish

  11. Serve in pasta bowls with a good grating of pasmasan on top. And ENJOY!

Recipe Notes

N.B. This also freezes and reheats very well 🙂

  • JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}
  • JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}
  • JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}
  • JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}
  • JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

This post is an entry for the #MeatMatters Challenge, sponsored by Simply Beef and Lamb. Learn more about the benefits of cooking and eating beef and lamb along with recipes and inspiration here: https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk

Brought to you in association with BritMums and Simply Beef & Lamb 🙂

JamJarGill: Meat Matters: Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

JamJarGill Meat Matters Bolognese {in association with BritMum's and Simple British Beef & Lamb}

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