How to Make Delicious Spaghetti Bolognese at Home
This detailed guide will show you how to make delicious, restaurant-quality Spaghetti Bolognese at home. With perfectly cooked pasta and a rich, flavorful Bolognese sauce, your dish will rival any restaurant’s version.
Ingredients
- 250g spaghetti
- 300g ground beef
- 3 tomatoes ~ 400g
- 1/2 onion ~ 170g
- 1 garlic bulb
- Ketchup
- Tomato sauce
- 40g unsalted butter
- Cheese
- Seasonings: Olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar
- Salad: Lettuce, cucumber, apple, cherry tomatoes, purple cabbage, mayonnaise
- French fries
- Soft drink
Ingredient Notes
To make Spaghetti Bolognese, besides pasta and ground beef, you'll need a few specific ingredients like olive oil, tomato sauce, ketchup, and unsalted butter. These ingredients can be easily found at supermarkets and specialty stores.
Instructions
Prepare the Ingredients
Marinate the ground beef with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well and let the beef absorb the seasoning for about 15 minutes.
For a tender and flavorful Bolognese sauce, it's recommended to use tender cuts of beef, such as tenderloin or flank steak.
Wash the tomatoes and dice them finely. Peel and wash the onion, then dice it finely like the tomatoes. You may want to chop the onion a bit smaller as it is firmer.
Peel and mince the garlic.
Sauté the Ground Beef
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan, sauté half of the minced garlic until fragrant, then add the ground beef and cook until it's just done. Turn off the heat and transfer the beef to a separate bowl.
The beef will be added back when the tomato sauce is nearly finished, which helps keep the beef from drying out and becoming tough.
Cook the Spaghetti
Bring 3 liters of water to a boil in a pot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and stir well. The oil and salt help to flavor the pasta and prevent it from sticking together during cooking.
When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the spaghetti and reduce the heat to a gentle boil. Cooking time typically ranges from 15 to 17 minutes, depending on your stove's heat level. Avoid stirring the pasta too much while it cooks, just occasionally to prevent sticking.
Once the spaghetti is cooked, transfer it to a large bowl. At this stage, the pasta might stick together as it cools, so toss it with a bit of olive oil to keep the strands separate and give them a nice glossy finish.
Don’t discard the pasta water, as you'll need it to thicken the sauce later. The starch in the pasta water adds body to the sauce.
Make the Bolognese Sauce
Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 4 pieces of unsalted butter (~40g) to a pan, heating over low heat until the butter melts. Then add the remaining minced garlic and sauté until fragrant before adding the tomatoes.
Once the tomatoes are soft, add the diced onions. Stir in 8 tablespoons of tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, and 1 tablespoon of pasta water. Stir well to combine all ingredients.
Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken, then add the sautéed beef back into the pan. Season the sauce to taste with 2 tablespoons of sugar, nearly 3.5 teaspoons of salt, and a bit of ground pepper if desired. Stir well and turn off the heat.
Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your taste. Since the sauce will be mixed with the pasta, it’s better to season it slightly more intensely.
At the final step, before turning off the heat, you can add a small piece of cheese on top to melt and enhance the dish's flavor.
How to Enjoy
There are two ways to enjoy Spaghetti Bolognese. The first is to plate the pasta and then pour the Bolognese sauce over it. The second way is to mix the pasta with the sauce before serving.
Final dish of Spaghetti Bolognese
When eating, use a fork to mix the pasta and sauce together and enjoy.
If you like, you can serve it with salad, French fries, and a refreshing soft drink.
The pasta is cooked perfectly, neither too hard nor too soft, and the sauce is rich, fragrant, and full of flavor, making every bite delicious. With just a little decoration, your Spaghetti Bolognese will look as beautiful as a restaurant dish.
Good luck with this Spaghetti Bolognese recipe from Cookbeo!
