I thought I would start off with something basic and pretty essential. The main thing for me about making this dish was putting in vegetables that I don't like, so I included a courgette and mushrooms into the sauce.
So I started by chopping an onion and some garlic which resulted in tears, although it wasn't as bad as previous encounters I've had with onions. It must have been a tame one. Next I chopped the carrots (which I like) and the courgette and mushrooms (which I don't like). I'd never chopped these two things before so that was interesting. I really had no clue if they grew, shrunk or stayed the same size when you cooked them so I had no idea what sort of size pieces to cut them into. I also had to make up my method of chopping as I went along. The mushrooms were actually really nice to chop, the feeling of the knife going through the raw mushroom was surprisingly satisfying and I would definitely recommend it.
Oil went in the pan, (although my dad told me later I used the wrong type of oil) followed by the onions and garlic which smelt really good as they were frying. Now at this point I wasn't sure whether to add the minced meat next or the vegetables I had just chopped. I opted for the veg (please tell me if I was wrong). I wasn't sure what courgette and mushrooms look like when they are cooked but I took a guess and then threw in the meat.
One hurdle I've always come across whilst cooking is flavouring. I genuinely have no idea what different herbs, spices and sauces all taste and smell like so I could never be that person who says "oh it definitely needs some rosemary or thyme..." Most of the time I even forget to add salt and pepper!
After the meat was nice and brown (number 1 priority is to not poison anyone) I added two tins of chopped tomato and some tomato puree, my friend, Sarah, told me I added them the wrong way around but hey. I then left it to simmer in the pan whilst the spaghetti cooked.
Me, spaghetti and any other pasta type thing really don't get on very well. I can never judge how much to use. It always doesn't look like much and then when it's all cooked you realise you've got enough pasta to feed a hungry football team. I ended up asking my dad how much to use.
Once everything was ready it was time to dish up and to taste the mess I had just created. Mum said she liked it but it needed more flavouring (see!) and dad just seemed to think the only thing missing was wine. As for myself, I ATE THE WHOLE THING! I couldn't taste the mushrooms at all which was a relief but I could taste the courgettes, which weren't that great but I powered through anyway.
To see spaghetti bolognese in action check out this link:
Hannah x
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