Student meals- Spag Bol

So I thought I would open with a classic, every student should know how to make a good Spag Bol, it's a staple of student life and it can be quite healthy.

You will need

Mince (this recipe uses veggie mince)

Onions 

Other veg-use whatever you have or whatever is going cheap for example

• Mushrooms
• Peppers
• Frozen mixed veg 
• Peas (fresh or frozen)

Tinned tomatoes 

Tomato puree 

Tomato Sauce 

A glug of oil

Garlic

Now you will notice I haven't given quantities of anything here, that's because I don't cook like that, I just bung it all in a pan and hope for the best, check the photos for rough ideas of how much to use. For this I used a massive saucepan (see photos) and it made LOADS.

Start off by chopping all your veg, here I used mushrooms and peppers, also chop your onions.

Then in the biggest sauce pan you can find add the oil and heat the pan to a high heat, add the garlic to the pan while the oil is cold. You really don't want to burn garlic, it will taste very bitter.

When the oil is hot fry off your onions until they have gone soft, if you are not sure taste them, they should become sweeter. (if you are using meat mince add it here and fry it until it had browned)

 Next throw in the rest of your veg and fry that off for a few mins, until everything has started to soften

 Now it is time to add your tomatoes, for this I used two tins and about 1/4 of a tube of paste. If you are using whole tomatoes then first only add the juice to the pan then with a knife roughly chop the tomatoes before adding to the pan (it's easy enough to do this while they are still in the tin). Then add the puree, you can add as much or as little as you like, puree will just make the tomato flavor stronger. Taste as you go and work from there.

 If you are making this with meat mince skip the next section.

 Now it's time to add veggie mince, I prefer veggie mince but I'm not veggie myself, it's often cheaper than meat so when it's on offer I like to stock up.

Any brand of mince is good I've made it with both Quorn and Linda McCartney mince (I prefer the latter), Tesco's own brand mince is very good.

 Give the mince a good stir and let is simmer away for about 5 mins (you might need to turn the heat down slightly here)









 When your mince is cooked (veggie mince) give it a taste, if you feel like it's missing something then I like add a squirt of Ketchup, I know it sounds weird but it really does make a difference (well to me anyway).














Finally you need to season the Bolognese well, keep tasting it as you go, you don't want to over season it.











Then leave it to simmer on a low heat while you get on with the spaghetti.


(If your sauce is looking too thick add some water, if it is looking too thin just let it simmer for a little longer

Serve and enjoy!

Leftovers
There will be left overs, I did warn you that this would make loads.
With this batch I put about half into plastic tubs like this, let them cool and then froze them.
With the rest I added a couple of teaspoons of chopped chili and a tin of red kidney bean and BOOM I had myself chilli con carne.






Finally you need to wash up, although if you cooked for your flat mates maybe they should wash up for you.

 So now I have armed you with the knowledge of spag bol, go forth to your kitchen and make a mess food!


Let me know if you guys try this, and questions let me know! Tweet me @scrimpystudent

Keep it scrimpy
Laura.