Gluten Free Spaghetti Bolognese

I know you can buy jars of Bolognese sauce that are gluten-free, but this recipe is absolutely delicious even if I do say so myself! And it is incredibly quick and easy. This is a recipe I learnt from my Mum a few years ago that I used to make all the time and I have just adapted it slightly so that it is gluten-free and lactose free!

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef mince
• 1 onion
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 cube beef stock
• 3 spoonfuls of tomato purée
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 12oz gluten-free spaghetti (or pasta)
• lacto-free cheese
• handful of gluten-free oats

Add a little oil to your saucepan over a medium heat, then chop your onion and add it to the saucepan. Cook the onion for about five minutes then add the beef mince to the pan, use a wooden spoon to stir the mince and onion together and cook the mince until it is browned. While the mince is cooking, boil a pan of water  with a little salt and add the spaghetti. I use Heinz gluten-free spaghetti which is really nice, I have also used own brand supermarket gluten-free spaghetti from Tesco and Asda which is pretty good too. Just a little tip when cooking with spaghetti, add a little oil to the boiling water as it prevents the spaghetti from sticking together as it cooks. The spaghetti takes about 15-20 minutes to cook. Make sure to stir it every so often with a fork.

When the mince has cooked, place a stock cube into a jug and add 8 fl oz of boiling water to the jug. I use Knorr stock pots which I think are really great in this recipe because it gives it a lovely rich flavour. I have also used Kallo stock cubes too. Add the 8 fl oz of stock to the mince and onion, then add the tin of tomatoes. Next, add three dessert spoonfuls of tomato purée and stir everything together. Then add the oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper. A really useful tip that I like to use in this recipe is to add a handful of gluten-free oats; they absorb some of the liquid in the sauce and creates a lovely thick texture to the Bolognese mixture. Leave to simmer over a low heat until the spaghetti for about 10-15 minutes.

When the spaghetti has cooked make sure you rinse it with boiling water as it gets rid of the stickiness of the spaghetti. Serve it up and add your delicious Bolognese sauce on top of the spaghetti. I like to add a little bit of grated lacto-free cheese on top just to finish it off nicely! Enjoy!