Spaghetti Bolognese Creole Style

Spaghetti Bolognese Creole Style Food Recipe

Ingredients

300 grams mince beef
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
500 grams dried spaghetti pasta
450 grams can finely chopped tomatoes
375 grams plain tomato paste
1/2 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of freshly grated tasty cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped basil leaves
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme leaves
10 cloves
1/2 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
chopped fresh red chillies as desired

Method

Season the mince beef with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and allow to rest at ambient room temperature.
Grate the cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and set aside.

Finely chop the onion. Finely crush the garlic and ginger. Set aside. If the canned crushed tomato is not finely crushed, use blender to further crush the canned tomatoes to a fine texture. Set aside. Finely chop thyme. Avoid the stalky bits.

Heat oil in a deep heavy bottomed saucepan to simmering point over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and ginger, finely chopped onion and chopped thyme leaves. Mix well and cook until the onion pieces become transparent.

Add the mince meat, mix well and allow to cook to a golden brown colour. Stir at intervals to ensure that meat does not burn or stick to the bottom of saucepan. Increase heat if necessary to cook the meat.

Add the tomato paste in small quantities and blend in well with the mince meat. Add the chopped tomatoes, 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves, mixed herbs, cloves and 1 cup of hot water. Mix well together. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the sauce is well blended and cooked. Stir at regular intervals to ensure the blending of all ingredients and to make sure that the sauce does not burn at the bottom of saucepan.

Optional: You may also add at this point in time the chopped red chillies. Mix well together. Adding some red chillies will remove the sweet taste in canned tomatoes.

Check at regular intervals to ensure that sauce does not dry up and burn. You can add and mix in little quantities of hot water if the sauce dries up. If sauce becomes watery, uncover and simmer to allow water to evaporate to make sauce thicker. You may adjust the sauce consistency to suit personal sauce preferences. Taste sauce at intervals and season with salt and pepper if desired. Stir at regular intervals to ensure the blending of all ingredients and to make sure that the sauce does not burn at the bottom of saucepan. The sauce must not be watery or it will not cling to the pasta. It should be consistent enough to stick to the pasta when mixed.

Optional: Add 1/2 cup of dry sherry or dry white wine and mix well. Allow to simmer for two more minutes.
Transfer to a serving dish. You may reheat in the microwave later as this needs to be served piping hot.
Sprinkle with 1 1/2 chopped basil leaves just before serving.

Cook the spaghetti pasta as per the instructions on the packet. Just prior to serving, reheat the spaghetti in the microwave and mix well with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Serve the desired quantity of spaghetti on each plate, sprinkle with tasty cheddar cheese according to taste, top with the desired amount of Bolognese sauce, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.

Sit back and enjoy with a glass of full bodied red wine.

 

Source

Madeleine's recipe : Spaghetti Bolognese Creole Style
Discover more of Madeleine’s Mauritian cuisine in‘Best of Mauritian Cuisine’ by Madeleine and Clancy Philippe