Another recipe that is a keeper for my family is this pasta ragù recipe (some may know it as pasta bolognese). My toddler son loves it (and so do my husband and I). I did not get this recipe from an Italian source. It is actually a product of different recipes my hubby and I have tried through the years. There is a chance that the Italian mamas and papas out there will roll their eyes after reading it (it will, most likely, differ from the original Italian recipe). If this is the case, my apologies (I completely get it, I shudder every time I find hard-shell tacos recipes). In the spirit of all openness, let´s better consider this a pasta in a ragù-style sauce.
As with every recipe in this site. Please know that :
I have succesfully made this recipe more than once.
I have checked the ingredients and method of cooking and found it a suitable healthy meal/snack for children.
My toddler son has tasted and eaten it (and liked it!).
I could find all the ingredients in the Netherlands.
Here the recipe!
Pasta ragú
Ideal for: dinner
Servings: 6-9 servings
Level of difficulty: Medium
Preparation time: 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients
For the ragù and pasta:
Oil
500g spaghetti
500 g ground beef (we use the lean option or "magere" in Dutch)
2 large cellery sticks
2 large carrots
3 tomatoes
1/2 onion
2-3 teaspoons thyme (quantity depends on your taste)
Fresh basil, finely chopped (will be used as topping)
For the tomato sauce:
4 tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
For the sauce:
Add the 4 tomatoes (you can cut them in half), the onion and the garlic clove in a pot, cover them with water and bring them to boil. Let it boil for 10 minutes or up to the moment you see the skin separating from the tomatoes
Place the cooked tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender and add salt and pepper to taste. Blend until you have a homogenous sauce. Set apart.
For the ragù and the pasta
Chop the cellery, onion, tomatoes and the carrots.
Add a little oil to a pot and add the onion. Stir until it starts changing colour
Add the chopped carrots and celery and stir now and then until softened.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the mixture and stir.
Add the ground beef. Combine with the cellery, tomato and carrot. Break up any clumps and let it cook until at least 3/4 of the beef is cooked.
Add the tomato sauce and the thyme
Let cook and stir ocassionally. Check that the carrot and celery are soft enough for your taste.
Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
Drain the spaghetti and add the ragù.
Top the pasta with some fresh basil (you can skip this step if your child is not that into the basil as a topping).
Variations:
-You can grate the carrots instead of chopping them. They will soften more quickly.
- Can you use tomato puree from the supermarket instead of making the sauce? Yes. I have to tell you, however, that my son is a fan of the version with the natural tomato sauce (the one from this recipe).
If you decide to go for the supermarket sauce, look for the option that only has tomatoes in the ingredients list and nothing else (if it also has ascorbic acid, it is not a problem). A lot of the tomato sauces that you find in the supermarket have oil, sugar and salt included (zout, suiker and olie in Dutch). Avoid these ones! Ironically, most of the times they are also more expensive than the ones with just tomatoes (so it is also good for your economy to avoid them ;) ).
-You can use another type of pasta (e.g. penne, farfalle) to make it easier to eat for your child or cut the cooked spaghetti into smaller pieces.
-Wanna make this recipe even healthier? Use whole-grain pasta!
Important note: When seasoning any meal, try to use as little salt as possible. The kidneys of young children cannot handle big salt quantities.
Enjoy!
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