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Dinner with
presents
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Mama’ss Best Ever
Bolognese
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Lesley Waters along with 6 Irish
Mamas share their winning
Bolognese Recipes for tasty
Italian family
meals.
Dinner with
Introduction
Foreword by Lesley Waters
Welcome!
As a real pasta lover, I believe that you can’t beat a good Bolognese recipe!
It’s the ultimate in healthy convenient food and a large pot of Spaghetti
Bolognese has what it takes to keep the whole family happy
at dinner time. If I’m in a hurry, the best option for me is to pull a jar of
Dolmio “Best Ever Bolognese” sauce from the cupboard. Dolmio’s new
recipe now only contains 100% good honest ingredients and as Mama
Dolmio says – ‘If you can’t find it inna my kitchen you won’t find it inna
my Bolognese sauce!’
Bolognese is the ideal meal solution for any busy Mum as it offers a
delicious and nutritious meal that your whole family will love. By offering
Bolognese in a family size jar, Dolmio have made it easy to enjoy a
convenient and easy to prepare midweek meal. Everything about
Dolmio’s “Best Ever Bolognese” is good, even the Dolmio jar can be
recycled!
In this booklet we have pulled together some of the “Best Ever Bolognese”
recipes used by Mamas around Ireland. We are lucky to have our winning
Irish Mamas sharing their secret tips with us.
If you would like to view the Mamas cooking with me please log on to
www.rte.ie/dinnerwithdolmio
We hope you enjoy cooking these recipes as much as our Irish Mamas
have enjoyed creating them!
Bon appetitto!!!!
Lesley Waters
Celebrity Chef & Mum
Lesley Waters is a renowned celebrity chef /
presenter with regular TV appearances on a
variety of popular shows.
She has also written several cookery books
and hosts cookery days at her home in
Dorset, England.
Mama Lesley Waters
(Dorset, England)
Lesley's “Best Ever Bolognese” Recipe
This is a delicious rich Bolognese sauce with my sneaky addition of sweet
red lentils and smoky bacon. For a spicy kick, Chorizo sausage can be
used in place of the sausage and bacon
Ingredients -
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large carrot peeled and diced finely
1 stick of celery diced finely
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon finely chopped
225g/8oz lean beef mince
2 pork sausages skinned
6 tablespoons full fat milk
Grating of fresh nutmeg
200ml/ 7floz red wine
1 x 500g jar Dolmio Original Bolognese sauce
200ml/ 7floz vegetable stock or water
2 level tablespoons red lentils
Method
Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
Turn up the heat; add the mince and sausage meat and fry off for 4/5
minutes or until browned.
Stir in the milk and boil for 2 minutes until almost evaporated. Add the
nutmeg and season well.
Pour in the red wine, Dolmio Bolognese sauce, stock and lentils. Bring to
the boil, and then simmer for 45 minutes until thick and rich. Serve with
your favourite pasta or is also great spooned into a large split baked potato.
Happy Cooking,
Lesley Waters.
Dinner with
Mama Mary McKenna
(Co. Kilkenny)
Mary’s Spaghetti
Bolognese
Ingredients -
Serves 3 - 4
1lb mince beef
2 rashers
½ red + green pepper
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
¼ lb mushrooms
1 red chilli pepper (optional)
1 carrot
1 Jar of Dolmio Original Bolognese sauce
Children: 2 daughters
Likes: fashion, interior design,
colours and cats
Dislikes: cruelty to animals,
steak, bad fitting shoes
Method
Fry mince and rashers together until browned.
Remove rasher and drain surplus fat.
Chop peppers onion garlic and mushrooms and add to mince.
Dice carrot and add in pour sauce over ingredients and stir with a wooden
spoon. Turn heat down to 3 and simmer for 20 minutes.
Mean while boil water for spaghetti in a large pot and add in a tablespoon
of olive oil to prevent sticking. Add 400 grams of spaghetti. Simmer for 15
minutes and strain. Serve with side salad.
Salad to include, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and black olives with
balsamic vinegar.
Mama Susan McDonald
(Co. Galway)
McDonald Bolognese
Like a lot of other mamas, I like to watch my weight, and therefore use no oil
in the preparation of this recipe. The finishing touch of grated cheese can
also be omitted if needs be. I use a mix of cheddar and gruyere as the kids
hate the smell of parmesan! It's a very economical dinner for us and tastes
even better if prepared the day before. It also freezes really well. This recipe
serves six hungry people- napkins required!
Ingredients - Serves 6
1kg steak mince/minced beef
2 large onions
2 red peppers
2 cloves of garlic
1 family size jar Dolmio Bolognese Light sauce
1 large jar of tomato puree
1.5 teasp dried mixed herbs
1 bay leaf
1 teasp sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar grated
Cheddar grated
Gruyere
Children: 3 sons
Likes: fish, garlic, pasta
Dislikes: bad manners (please,
thank yous), olives and margarine
Method
Finely dice onions and peppers and crush
garlic. Heat non-stick saucepan and add
meat. Cook on high mixing and breaking up
meat for 5-7 mins until meat is all brown and
juices appear to be bubbling.
Place meat in a colander and allow to drain. Place saucepan on hob again
and heat. Add onions, peppers, garlic and balsamic vinegar and cook on
low/medium heat with lid on for 5-6 mins until slightly softened.
Mix in meat and add bay leaf, herbs, Dolmio Bolognese Sauce, tomato puree
and sugar. Stir to combine ingredients and simmer gently for 35-40 mins.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve with spaghetti
or our family favourite, linguine. Serve with garlic bread if desired.
Sprinkle with grated cheeses and enjoy!
Dinner with
Mama Nancy Hennessy
(Co. Westmeath)
Nancy’s Crispy Baked
Cod in Dolmio Sauce
Ingredients -
Children: 6 sons & 2 daughters
Likes: animals – has 6 cats and 1
dog, music and cooking
Dislikes: garlic, people bringing
snow in the house, smell of silage
Serves 3 - 4
2lb Cod fillets
Juice ½ lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Jar of Dolmio Original Bolognese sauce
2 oz margarine
1 onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
2 sticks of celery very finely chopped
1 green pepper very finely chopped
½ teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of mixed herbs
½ teaspoon of sugar
Topping
2 ozs margarine
4 ozs white breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon of chopped parsley
2 ozs cheddar cheese
Method
Cooking time 45 mins.
Oven for heat gas mark 6, elec 400ºF, 200ºC, shelf middle.
Wash and dry the fish then cut into pieces. Place in a lightly greased oven proof
dish. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the fish then season with salt
and pepper.
Melt the margarine in a saucepan, stir in the garlic and chopped celery. Cook for
2 – 3 mins until the vegetables soften.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Cover
and simmer for 10 – 15 mins.
To make topping – melt the margarine in a saucepan, remove from the heat.
Using a fork stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley then mix in the grated cheese.
To finish the crispy topped pie – pour the Dolmio sauce over the fish and sprinkle
the topping evenly all over.
Cook in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes until the topping is crisp and golden
brown.
Mama Mary Jackman
(Co. Limerick)
Mary’s Classic
Bolognese
Ingredients - Serves 3 - 4
Children: 1 daughter
Likes: simplest ingredients when
cooking, freshest vegetables
and herbs, golfing and tennis
Dislikes: insincerity, children
running around
1 large red onion - chopped finely
1 clove garlic - chopped finely
2 cans plum tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
14 ozs minced steak
3 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
Salt and black pepper
8 ozs veg stock (stock cube)
1 glass Chianti
Method
Using a good, strong saucepan, heat the oil, add the garlic and onion cook over moderate heat for about 5 mins.
Add the mince and fry until browned. Then add the cans of tomatoes,
breaking them gently with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in the tomato puree, the vegetable stock and the red wine. Cover and
let simmer over a medium to low heat for at least an hour. Enjoy its aroma
in the kitchen!
Before serving this sauce (with your favourite pasta, stufffed peppers,
aubergine (or whatever you fancy) sprinkle with the chopped coriander.
This gives a great balance to the sauce and is inviting to the eye.
Dinner with
Mama Kathy Leo
(Co. Galway)
Kathy’s Spaghetti with
Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients -
Children: 2 daughters
Likes: flowers, clothes, holidays,
poultry and game
Dislikes: bad timekeeping, bad
manners, and spirits (alcohol)
Serves 3 - 4
1 small onion
1 small carrot
1 stick of celery
1 clove of garlic
2 teaspoons of salt
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bottle of Passata al Pomodoro
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1/2 lb of ground minced beef
¼ lb of ground minced pork
½ oz butter
½ kg of spaghetti
Grated parmesan
Method
Very finely chop the onion, carrot, garlic and celery. Add olive oil to a medium
sized pot and 2 teaspoons of salt, add in onion, carrot and celery and fry
gently over a low heat until softened.
Raise the heat to medium and add in minced beef/pork – please ensure
meat is of a smooth consistency and not lumpy – stir into vegetable
mixture and fry gently until meat is browned, stirring regularly.
Add in tomato passata and tinned tomatoes stirring well. Cover and leave to
simmer over a very low heat for 1 hour stirring occasionally – add in
butter and leave for a further 20 mins until liquid has reduced and sauce has
thickened and darkened in colour.
While Bolognese sauce is cooking for last 20 mins, fill a pot with water and
bring to the boil, when water is bubbling add in 2 teaspoons of rock salt then
add your spaghetti cook as per instructions which should be approximately
8-9 mins – or until ‘al dente’. Remove and drain and add to sauce, serve with
a generous sprinkle of parmesan and a sprig of basil to decorate.
Mama Fiona Lavelle
(Co. Kilkenny)
Fiona’s Spaghetti
Bolognese
Ingredients -
Children: 1 son & 2 daughters
Likes: fashion and cooking
Dislikes: bad manners and
Chinese food
Serves 6 - 8
1 tbsp olive oil
1 oz butter
1 onion finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
2 celery sticks finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
8 oz mushrooms sliced
4 oz rindless rashers (smoked streaky, chopped)
1 lb minced steak
1 tbsp tomato puree
¼ pt dry white wine
2 cans chopped tomatoes
½ pt beef stock
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp basil chopped
Method
Melt butter, add all vegetables and bacon and fry for 10 mins.
Add meat and brown.
Then add all ingredients (except cream and basil), bring to boil and
simmer for 2 hours.
Add cream and basil at end of cooking.
Serve with spaghetti and top with parmesan cheese
Dinner with
Dolmio are delighted to launch their
NEW Bolognese range with a new recipe
that now has 30% more tomato chunks.
Dolmio Bolognese is made using only 100% good
honest ingredients, so if you don’t find it in Mama’s
kitchen you won’t find it in Dolmio Bolognese sauce!
The Dolmio Bolognese range is available in 7
delicious varieties and is free from artificial
colours, flavours and preservatives, offering the
perfect basis for a tasty & healthy meal for the whole
family!
For some great tips and delicious recipes,
please log on to:
www.rte.ie/dinnerwithdolmio
or
www.dolmio.ie
For some great tips and delicious recipes, please log on to:
www.rte.ie/dinnerwithdolmio
or
www.dolmio.ie