Beautiful bolognaise!

I'm a big pasta lover, and my bolognaise recipe was perfected in my second year at university. It's a simple recipe which tastes so much nicer than any shop brought jar! I make all of my sauces from a similar mix of herbs and spices, and along with my chilli this is a firm favourite with everyone I've cooked it for. As with all my recipes you're free to add or take away any of the ingredients which you don't like, or don't have or have alternatives for. The amount of ingredients depends on how many you are cooking for, but the measurements here are for 2 very generous servings for 2 hungry people. Enjoy!

Ingredients
- Passata 500ml jar (half was used, depends on how rich you want your sauce)
- Tinned chopped tomatoes
- Mince (extra lean if possible, half a normal sized pack)
- Garlic powder
- Mixed dried herbs
- Chilli powder
- Paprika powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Beef gravy granules or a stock cube
- White wine or red wine (I used a glass of white wine instead of red and it was slightly nicer!)
- Vegetables of your choice (I always pick mushrooms and peppers)
- Spaghetti or pasta

Equipment
- Frying pan
- Sauce pan
- Spoon
- Fish slice or similar

Instructions
- Firstly brown the mince in the frying pan with some garlic powder, I don't use oils as the meat itself produces a lot during cooking, but it is important to keep the mince moving if you have a non stick pan. Make sure the mince is chopped up with a fish slice (or something similar) when cooking, there's nothing worse than big chunks of mince!
- When the mince is nicely browned and the fat drained into a tub or sandwich bag (not down the sink!!) it's time to put the saucepan on the stove at a low heat.
- Add the mince, tinned tomatoes, as much of the mixed herbs as you like, a touch of paprika and chilli powder and allow to simmer for about 7 minutes.
- You will now notice that the sauce has reduced, therefore top this up with some passata, a glass of wine, and add some gravy granules or stock. The only problem with gravy granules is that they can often take over the flavour, so make sure you add little amounts and taste before putting more in.
- Add the vegetables to the sauce pan and allow to cook for approximately 25 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.
*make sure you taste the sauce and see if you want anything added to it, you can add to the mix but you can't take away*
- When you think the sauce is near enough done add a tiny amount of salt and pepper to taste, and boil your preferred pasta.
- Serve and enjoy!

Tips
- The idea with this recipe is to be constantly tasting it, there are no measurements involved, it's what you think should go. The more used you are to tasting your meals, the more educated you will be on what goes well.
- Only add a tiny bit of paprika, it's very spicy so you can leave it out if you think the chilli powder will be enough.
- The longer you allow the dish to simmer, the most tasty it will be! A bad way of explaining it, but the flavours do burst out once it's been on a low heat for so long.
- You can add all the ingredients at once to reduce cooking time if you're looking for a one pot type cook.
- Make it yours!

I do love this bolognaise sauce and I hope up you will too! It's delicious, easy and not packed with sugar like the shop brought ones. It is time consuming but you can always use a slow cooker, or freeze it to have during the week

Hope you enjoy this recipe :)
K x

Chicken and Chorizo Pasta!

Did someone say chicken and chorizo?!
This recipe is inspired from a dish from Vodka Revolution, a vodka bar in the UK which serves fantastic food. It's a pretty basic idea, but with an incredible taste explosion! You're free to cook as much or as little as you like, if you want more chicken just add more. The fun with cooking is that you're free to experiment, just as I have with this recipe!

Ingredients
- Pasta
- Chicken
- Chorizo
- Rosemary (I used dry)
- Red Pesto
- Tiny drop of oil
You can pick all of these ingredients up at most supermarkets, and they're relatively inexpensive :)

Equipment
- Saucepan
- Frying pan

Preparation
- Make sure the chicken is cut into quite small pieces to minimise cooking time, if like me you're a bit of a raw-chicken-phobe wear some gloves or put a sandwich bags on your hands!
- Sprinkle rosemary onto the chicken (depending on how much you like rosemary)
- Boil the kettle for the pasta and you're ready to go!

Instructions
- Put the pasta in the saucepan and pour over the boiling water
- Add a tiny drop of oil to the frying pan, just enough so you can move the chicken without it sticking, and cook the chicken
- Once the chicken is cooked and the pasta is close to finish, add the chorizo in slices (tear them in half if you wish)
- When everything is done, drain the pasta, mix in some red pesto to taste, and serve up!

It's such a simple dish but tastes so good, I've cooked it for two sets of friends and they both loved it!

Tips
- The chorizo can go slightly bacon flavoured and textured when cooked for a long while, and all it really needs is 30 seconds in the frying pan if that.
- Don't like chorizo? You could try salami, or even smoked bacon!
- Red pesto is give or take for some people especially with the pine nuts for those with allergies, but I'm sure a simple concoction of chopped up sundried tomatoes will do the same trick.


Please let me know if you're thinking of trying this recipe, or have something similar that you cook. I'd love to hear from you and your tricks and tips, maybe you've got some great recipes too! :)

K x