Beef Ragu with Spaghetti

I love pasta. Spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, whatever. My first ever spaghetti experience was my mum's spaghetti with meat sauce which I attempted here.

Since then, I have had many styles of pasta and one of my favorites is spaghetti with some sort of meat sauce. 

I love beef and I attempted this recipe which was featured on Hemsley & Hemsley : Healthy & Delicious. What the Hemsley girls prepared was Beef Ragu and Courgetti, courgetti being zucchini disguised as spaghetti which doesn't cut it for me.

I want real spaghetti and that's what I had. I quite like this beef ragu, it's delicious and robust. It made for a very satisfying lunch.

By the way, this is the crushed tomatoes I used.

Beef Ragu

Recipe source : Adapted from Hemsley & Hemsley

Ingredients :

- 500g minced beef

- 2 big onions, finely diced

- 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

- 2 bay leaves

- 1 tsp Italian mixed herbs

- 250ml red wine (can omit and substitute with beef stock or water)

- 100ml water

- 680ml crushed tomatoes (I used the bottled one)

- 1 tbsp tomato puree

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Olive oil

Method :

1. Heat olive oil and saute onions until softened.

2. Add garlic, bay leaves and mixed herbs and continue to saute until aromatic.

3. Add beef and stir until meat changes color.

4. Add red wine (or water/stock) and stir.

5. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato puree and water.

6. Bring to a boil and simmer covered with lid slightly off, to reduce and thicken. Stir every now and then.

7. Once thickened, season with salt and pepper.