Slow Cooker Beef Shin Ragu

Whilst an ordinary ragu with beef, pork, lamb or even in my case turkey mince is a beautiful thing in its' own right, if you have the time, this Slow Cooker Beef Shin Ragu, really does bring this up a notch; it's rich, unctuous, glossy and the meat shout fall apart. 

As with most cheap cuts of meat, beef shin benefits from low and slow cooking and cooked in this sauce, in the slow cooker, the meat will just break away at the slightest touch of the spoon and melt in your mouth. You can easily source beef shin at any butchers, and Morrisons often stocks this; but if you do struggle this would work with other cuts of stewing beef.

If you haven't got a slow cooker, then you could cook exactly as below, just in a casserole pot either low on the hob for 3-4 hours or in the oven at about 150 degrees, and covered with a lid. 

I am a recent slow cooker adopter (Crockpot) and have to say they are a handy purchase, particularly mid-week. While we've been working from home, I've found it really useful to throw some ingredients into the slow cooker first thing; and then can spend some time with the kids when logging off from work before having to tend to dinner. 

This dish does take a small amount of prep in frying off the meat in some seasoned flour, which you could omit from doing if you're time poor, but it does help to thicken your sauce and make it thicker and glossier. 

Often a ragu uses red wine, but I prefer white wine, and I would say use any open bottle; if it's good enough to drink, it's good enough to use.

The below serves 4-5 and can be frozen once cooked so is great for batch cooking too.

Slow Cooker Beef Shin Ragu

Here's how:

• 450g beef shin
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 carrots
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 jar passata (or use 1 tin of chopped tomatoes)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 glass of white wine (you can use red wine if you prefer)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp dried cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 3-4 tbsp boiled water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 chicken stock cube
• Salt and black pepper

Firstly place a frying pan on a medium heat and drizzle in some olive oil.

In a small bowl, place the plain flour and season generously with salt and black pepper. Mix a little and then take the beef shin and coat it in the flour so all of it is covered. Now sear it in the pan, just allow it to gently brown on each side. Repeat until each piece of beef shin is seared and then place into the slow cooker.

Peel and finely dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the slow cooker. 

Finely slice the celery and peel and dice the carrot and add to the slow cooker. 

Pour in the passata, white or red wine and balsamic vinegar. Make the chicken stock cube up in the 3-4 tbsp of boiled water and pour in. 

Add the sugar, cinnamon, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves and then season generously with salt and black pepper. Give a stir and pop the lid on and cook. I use the lower setting and try to cook for 4-6 hours if time allows, but if you are pushed for time cook in 2-3 hours on the higher setting. 

Do not touch the slow cooker for the first hour of cooking to allow it to build up enough heat, and then every 30 minutes or so, carefully open the lid and give a gentle stir. 

To test the meat is cooked through, just use a metal fork or spoon to gently pull at it, it should break up really easily and you know this will be cooked through and delicious.

Serve with your choice of pasta; we prefer the usual spaghetti or tagliatelle but my kids love it with penne or farfalle. Before you drain your pasta, be sure to take 1-2 tbsp of the pasta water and add it to the ragu and mix it through with the pasta before serving - it helps the sauce to stick to the pasta and give it a good coating. Serve with some Parmesan, Pecorino or even Cheddar grated over.

Reduced Calorie Bolognese

Spaghetti Bolognese is always a crowd-pleaser at our house and as I’m trying to get a few pounds off before the summer holiday season begins, I have tweaked the more traditional version to reduce the calories and this is pretty good even if I say so myself.

Using turkey thigh mince instead of the usual steak or beef mince immediately shaves off approximately 60 calories, and by taking out the red wine and adding instead a touch of balsamic vinegar, again takes out around 160 calories overall. I would usually use a generous amount of olive oil when making a bolognese sauce, but have reduced this too just three sprays of Fry Light Olive Oil at only 3 calories.

I serve with 150g cooked wholemeal spaghetti too - which is easier to digest and has half the amount of sugar to white spaghetti. The below gives x4 portions and one with the 150g pasta and a tiny 6g Grana Padana grated over too comes in at 515 calories.

I add cinnamon to the mince as it cooks, which gives a great flavour and is more of a nod towards the Greek flavours of a meaty ragu, rather than Italian, but trust me it works beautifully.

Reduced Calorie Bolognese

Here’s how:

• 250g turkey thigh mince
• 1 large white onion
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 large carrot
• 2 celery sticks
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Water
• 3x sprays of Fry Light Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Firstly spray the pan with the Fry Light and place on a low heat.

Peel and finely dice the onion and add to the pan.

Peel and mince the garlic and also add to the pan.

Now peel the carrot and finely dice, and cut the celery into small slithers too. Add both to the pan.

Once the vegetables are softened, add the turkey mince and season well.

Use a wooden spatula or spoon to gently break up the meat to avoid it all clumping together.

Once it has begun to brown, mix it around and allow it to cook all over. At this point add the dried cinnamon and stir.

Once the meat has all coloured, add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, balsamic vinegar, oregano, sugar and rosemary and mix well. Now fill the empty tomato can up with water straight from the tap and pour over the meat.

Now simply allow to cook for at least thirty minutes until the sauce has reduced down and thickened up a little. The longer you cook the sauce for, the more intense the flavour will be so if you're not in a rush leave it to cook down for as long as you can.

Serve over spaghetti with a small smattering of Grana Padana and enjoy!

Turkey and Hidden Vegetable Bolognese

Like most parents I speak to, we sometimes have a hard time encouraging Bridget to eat her vegetables. Gone is the foodie baby that barely turned her nose up at anything, and in her place is an opinionated, strong-willed, almost three-year old young lady who refuses point blank to eat carrots. Except of course when Mummy has cleverly disguised them in a number of different ways. Pasta sauces are the easiest, as the carrot can simply be grated into the sauce and this turkey Bolognese has become a family favourite over the past few months.

I've been favouring turkey over my usual steak or pork mince as it's got a much lower fat and calorie content, which has been key in me still having delicious, homemade food, but with tweaks, such as these to slowly but surely reduce the baby weight gain!

This is a fantastic, cheap and healthy family meal that freezes well too. I have been enjoying this alone or with some courgette but I serve with pasta for Glen and Bridget - I'm sure it won't be too long till Beatrice enjoys some Bolognese too.

I very finely chop or dice the rest of the vegetables so they aren't detected by Bridget and have done the same for friends' children too - one of which is almost a teenager and has no idea so this is a parenting trick I'm sure I'll be using for years to come.

Turkey and Hidden Vegetable Bolognese

 

Here's how:

• 1 white onion
• 450g turkey mince (I prefer thigh as it's less dry but breast is fine too)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 sticks celery
• 1 courgette
• 2 carrots
• 2 tomatoes
• Handful mushrooms
• 1 jar or carton passata
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Black pepper
• Salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp red wine
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Glug of good olive oil

Firstly pour the olive oil into a non-stick pan and place onto a low heat. Really finely dice the onion and mince the garlic and place into the pan. Once softened add the turkey mince and slowly brown, using a wooden spatula to break up as you cook and avoid it all sticking together in one big lump.

Add the cinnamon, black pepper and salt to taste.

Finely dice the celery and roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the mince mix.

Peel and grate or very finely dice the carrot and add to the mix.

Finely dice the courgette and slice the mushroom (or if also hiding that, dice too) and add to the mince with the passata, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, red wine and tomato puree.

Finally make up the chicken stock and add to the Bolognese. Stir thoroughly and keep on a low heat to cook through for as long as you can. An hour to two hours makes for a really richly intense flavour, but if you are short on time, 30 minutes will do it. Taste during cooking and add additional seasoning if need be.

Serve alone, or with some pasta of your choice and a little Parmigianna or other hard cheese of your choice. Enjoy!

Courgetti Bolognese

I finally got a spiraliser at Christmas and am quickly becoming addicted to it. I have made a range of courgetti or courgette pasta/noodles with the likes of a skinny carbonara, with spicy prawns or with a simple tomato and basil sauce and these have all been great. For me though, whenever I diet, my body seems to crave my favourite comfort foods and Spaghetti Bolognese is up there so it was inevitable I would create a skinny version.

The below is the recipe to make enough for four portions of Bolognese and then I spiralise a 100g courgette for myself (18 calories), whereas my partner would have around 75g whole wheat spaghetti (255 calories), so you can the huge difference in calories right there. If I were to be exercising later or needed a carb fix I mix up my courgetti with 25g whole wheat spaghetti but for January, at least, I’m leaving the pasta out. I also omit from adding pancetta or bacon to cut down the calories some more.

One portion of the below, with the 100g spiralised courgette and an indulgent 15g grating of either mature cheddar or Parmesan comes in at 415 calories and it’s incredibly filling and utterly delicious. I made this for two friends last week who really enjoyed it too. I do use 1 tbsp olive oil as it just wouldn’t feel like an authentic Bolognese without it – but if you’re keen to cut the calories even more, omit from using and simply dry fry.

Finally this dish benefits from low and slow cooking – I try to cook for three hours as then it becomes rich and delicious, and let’s face it deliciousness isn’t something we always associate with diets and healthy food, but if you are pushed for time or trying to throw this together mid-week, then reduce the cooking time to forty minutes (any less and you won’t get the intensity of flavour).

Courgetti Bolognese

• 400g lean steak mince
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 carrots
• 100g celery
• 1 onion
• 120g mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• Pinch black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 glass Chianti or another Italian red wine
• 1 chicken stock cube topped up with 100ml boiling water
• Your choice of courgetti or spaghetti (I use 100g courgetti for me, 75g whole wheat spaghetti for my partner)
• 1 more clove garlic
• Mature Cheddar or Parmesan (approx. 15g per person) - optional

Firstly add the olive oil to a non-stick pan and place on a low heat.

Finely dice the onion and garlic and add to the pan to gently sauté. Whilst these are softening and flavouring the oil, peel the carrots, then either dice finely or grate and set aside. Finely slice the celery and mushrooms too and also set aside for the moment.

Now add the mince to the pan and allow to brown, mixing with a spatula throughout to prevent it sticking together. Season at this point and also add the cinnamon as this gives the meat a lovely depth of flavour (a lovely Greek Yiayai or Nanny gave me this tip when I was working in Corfu a few years back).

Once browned add the celery, mushrooms and carrots and allow to cook for two minutes, turning to try and coat each piece in the flavoured oil. Now add the tomatoes, tomato puree and red wine and chicken stock, season again to your taste and give a good stir. Now pop the lid on and cook for up to three hours, stirring every five to ten minutes and making sure it’s on a really low, gentle heat.

To make the courgetti as flavoursome as possible I firstly dry fry the remaining garlic clove in a clean pan for a minute, then add the courgette and cook for approximately 1 minute, tossing it as you go.

Now to plate up – you can either dish up your courgetti (or spaghetti if using) and then spoon your portion of Bolognese on top in the traditional British way (as I have in the picture) or you can mix it all together which will distribute the wonderful flavour of the meat sauce and avoid any dry courgette moments. Enjoy.