Bolognese Pasta Bake

Bolognese Pasta Bake
Tomato Sauce Diaries Part 2

Welcome back to The Tomato Sauce Diaries and today I’m using my stunning homemade tomato sauce to make a Bolognese pasta bake.

• olive oil and butter
• 1 medium onion – peeled and finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot – finely diced
• 2 stalks of celery – finely diced
• fresh herbs – I used rosemary, thyme and a teaspoon of dried oregano
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 400g mince – I used veggie @quorn_uk but use your fave meat or meat sub
• roughly 500ml tomato sauce (see previous reel for recipe)
• 200ml veggie stock
• 350g conchiglioni pasta (or any pasta of your choice)
• 150g strong cheddar or parmesan – grated
• two large balls of mozzarella
• fresh basil

The Method

Add a generous amount of butter and olive oil to a pan on a medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the onions. Next add the celery and carrots, stir and let them shimmy in the pan for about 5 mins then as they begin to soften, add garlic and the herbs. Let the whole thing saute gently for at least five minutes more.

Once the veg are soft add the mince. Stir well and let it all sizzle together for at least another 5-8 mins or until the veg are beginning to colour and the mince is soft. Next stir in the tomato sauce and the stock.

Stir well and turn the heat down to the very lowest. Let it gently plop away whilst you make the pasta in boiling water until just al dente, drain mostly and set aside

Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan) / 356F

Stir the pasta and cheeses into the sauce. Place it into the oven for 35 – 45 minutes until it’s gloriously golden on top. Serve with freshly torn basil.

Eat and of course, enjoy!