A Quick Spaghetti Bolognese

This recipe is for my quick spaghetti bolognese.  It is very simple to make and quite frugal.

300g beef mince
1 onion
1 red pepper
1 courgette
8-10 button mushrooms
Squirt of Tomato Puree
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
Pinch of Ground Black Pepper
A splash of  Red Wine Vinegar
1 Teaspoon of Sugar
250g Wholewheat Spaghetti

I start by putting the mince in a large frying pan with a little olive oil until browned.  I  then add the vegetables after dicing them, the mushrooms being the last to be added.  Heat them all through with the mince until they start to soften before adding the pinch of pepper, tomato puree, vinegar, and tin of chopped tomatoes.  Leave to simmer for 10 minutes or so, adding half a teaspoon of sugar to take the acidic edge from the added tomatoes and vinegar, giving a lovely sweet bolognese sauce.

Whilst the sauce is being left to simmer, I put the kettle on and boil some water to cook the spaghetti.  I use wholemeal spaghetti so it takes a little longer to cook but is high in fibre.  Before adding the spaghetti to the pan, I do a Jamie Oliver twist, and then drop the spaghetti in.  (I call it this because I saw him doing it on TV once and tried it).  It does seem to help the spaghetti to soften  and smoothly drop into the pan once the water is added.  You basically twist the top of the handful of spaghetti in one direction whilst at the same time twisting the bottom of the spaghetti in the opposite direction and then drop it in the empty pan before adding the boiling water on top.  Here's a picture of how it looks when dropped in.

Once the spaghetti is cooked, I just taste it to tell whether or not it is, I drain it and serve with the sauce on top and a grating of Parmesan cheese.  This recipe should serve 3-4 people depending on portion size.  Here's a picture of the finished dish. (Please excuse the smear of sauce around the edge of the dish).