"This is a journey of my life since I was all of 12 yrs when I started my hand in cooking to now with displays of my learning and creations of recipes from around the world. My inspiration and role model has always been my Mum who has always created dishes from around the world and excellently well. I do not believe I would ever match to her culinary skills. I remember the times she could cook and bake almost 4-5 dishes in one go without ever letting one go under cooked or burnt! I was born and raised in Dubai, UAE and recently moved to India for family reasons. Kitchenette just means that over the decades, my kitchen has changed from that of my mum's to my uncle and aunt's, to my home in UAE and now in India. Pala't'te, describes both global cuisines ('Palatte'-diverse flavours) and pleasing diverse 'Palates'."

Tuesday 19 February 2013

Assorted Pasta Bolognese - A Twist on Spaghetti Bolognese

I have to start this post with an apology to my readers. It has been quite a while since my last post and while the reasons are large and varied. I can tell you that the first part of my New Year 2013 was spent away on a holiday/medical research followed by what I earlier thought I would never experience "Writer's block"! I am happy to tell you though that I did spend that time in trying out new recipes and now am ready to share with you all of my new creations. January left with a bang with my darling' daughter's much celebrated 3rd birthday.

Of course as tradition goes, Mum always needs to pamper lil ones with their faves during their birthday celebration. Izzy has always loved pasta, noodles, tomato/ragu base with meat. So what best to make than Bolognese Sauce. Hmmm, but since we only had a duo at the celebration at first and pasta being one of my favourite as well, I decided to add a mild twist to the traditional Spaghetti Bolognese. I used Noodles and Rigatone. Needless to say the birthday girl was wowed with her surprise brunch meal. Bolognese Sauce as you may know is a meat based sauce originating from Bologna, Italy. Hope you enjoy this meal as much as we did.


Pasta Bolognese


 You need:

For the Bolognese Sauce:
  • 500 gms Minced meat (Veg option: Soya granules)
  • 1 large grated Onion
  • 1 grated carrot
  • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed and diced
  • Sprinkle of oregano
  • 2 tbsp of tomato paste or Homemade Tomato Puree
  • 500 gms of tomatoes, skinned and chopped **
  • Dash of Worcestershire Sauce (Veg option: Soya Sauce as Worcestershire sauce may contain fish)
  • Salt and Pepper -  to taste
  • Olive oil as required
  • Dash of dried parsley or 2 tsp of  fresh parsley
*Optional: 
  • Dash of red wine (avoid if cooking for kids)
  • 1 tbsp of cream
**(Tip: you can skin the tomatoes by running the tomatoes under hot water)

For the Pasta:
  • 50 gms of Noodles (half cooked and strained)
  • 50 gms of Rigatone Pasta (half cooked and strained)
  • Grated gruyure cheese (optional)

The Make:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes | Serves 4-6 adults


1. Heat olive oil in a deep bottomed skillet and saute the onions and carrots till translucent. Do not brown.

2. Season with salt and add the crushed garlic. Next sprinkle the oregano and saute for 1 minute on medium heat.

3. Add the mince meat, parsley and  add the tomato paste. Saute well.  You can add the red wine at this stage and reduce. I did not use wine as I mentioned this was a kids meal for my little one.



4. Next add the chopped tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. You can uncover and add cream at this stage.



5. Add the pasta and noodles. Saute without crushing the pasta and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. 


6. Serve with grated gruyere cheese or other of your choice on top.


Tip:You can also serve the sauce on the side and top the pasta with the sauce and cheese while serving, then you will get a more creamier texture as the pasta would absorb the sauce in the cooking process mentioned above.

Serve hot with crusted bread or your favourite salad or as is. Bon Appetit little ones :)

Topped with Gruyere Cheese

No comments:

Post a Comment

"I would love to hear your views and suggestions on my post. If you have tried my recipe and made alterations too, I would love to learn of it!

Kindly do not post any links or advertisements as they would NOT get published.

In case you face any issue in posting your comments, please do get in touch with me on gginazkitchenette@gmail.com

Thanks in advance for all your positive comments, suggestions and critiques..I will respond to your comments and feedback as soon as possible....

Waiting to hear from you!"