Emergency food

The traditional 'spag bol' is a great meal and can be made even more healthy with a little effort. It also freezes well and can be defrosted quickly when you can't be bothered to cook a proper meal after a long day at work.

My healthy spaghetti bolognaise has one simple secret, 'stealthed veggies'. Like many people I'm not a fan of veggies and when given the choice, I'd say no thanks. So here is a simple way to help get your five a day on to your plate. Grate your veggies, when cooked in a dish like spag bol, they all but disappear.   

Ingredients:

500g Lean minced beef
3 finely chopped, large onions
3 grated peppers (I find red, yellow and orange taste best)
1 grated cougette
3 grated carrots
3 stalks of finely chopped celery
500g passata
2 tins chopped tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic, minced
5 beef Oxo cubes

1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 tbsp dried marjoram
3 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
(Add the herbs to your own taste)

Pasta (whole wheat for preference)  

How to:

1. In a large non stick pan over a medium high heat, sweat off the onion, garlic carrot and celery. Once the onions have turned translucent add the peppers and courgette and turn the heat down to medium.
2. In a non stick frying pan cook the mince over a medium high heat. Despite what your mum told you, you really don't need any oil to fry food. The secret is to keep the heat a bit lower and pay attention to the food. Once the meat is almost cooked crumble in the Oxo cubes, turn the heat down to medium and finish cooking the meat.
3. Add the cooked mince to the big veggie pot and add the passata, chopped tomatoes and herbs. Bring the pot back to the boil and then turn the heat down to low and simmer for at least an hour. We cook ours for 2-3 hours when we have the time. Stir occasionally and after an hour check the taste. We like the flavour the herbs give this dish, you might have to adjust the amount of herbs you use. Don't skimp on the basil though, as it really works well with tomatoes.
4. Boil up your pasta as per the directions on the packet. Note: You don't need to add salt or oil to pasta water.
5. Serve with Parmesan cheese and a twist of ground black pepper.
6. Divide the remaining sauce into portions and freeze. 

Serves 6-8

You may notice that we don't add any salt to the dish, personally I don't think it needs any. 

As to serving size, we normally get 6-8 portions out of one pot.