Mary Berry has a range of quick and easy recipes you could make between Christmas Day and New Year’s.
The cooking pro has put a delightful spin on the classic bolognese, transforming it into a pasta bake that’s not only scrumptious but also convenient.
This bolognese pasta bake can be prepped up to six hours ahead of time, requiring less than half an hour of your attention before it’s oven-ready.
In her book, Mary shared her secret: “This is a bolognese pasta that can be assembled ahead in one dish, ready to pop in the oven. Frying the mushrooms ensures they keep firm and flavoursome, not soft and soggy.”
For this mouth-watering meal, you’ll need a deep frying pan for the base, a smaller one for those perfectly fried mushrooms, and an ovenproof dish to bring it all together.
Ingredients
675g minced beef
350ml beef stock
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
225g penne pasta
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
50g parmesan cheese, grated
Two garlic cloves, crushed
Two celery sticks, chopped
Two onions, chopped
Two 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
Two tablespoons of tomato puree
Two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
One tablespoon of red currant jelly
One tablespoon of olive oil
Thyme leaves, chopped
A knob of butter
Salt and pepper
Method
Start off by heating a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep frying pan, tossing in the onions and celery to sizzle for three minutes or until they start to soften.
Next, throw in the minced beef, browning it off swiftly while crumbling it with a wooden spoon. Stir in the garlic and tomato puree, mixing thoroughly.
Then pour in the tomatoes, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, and redcurrant jelly, giving it a good stir and seasoning it with salt and pepper to taste.
Finally, slap a lid on the pan, dial down the heat to a gentle simmer, and let it bubble away for 30 to 35 minutes.
Once the time is up, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the mushrooms and cook them on high heat for one minute.
Place a lid on the pan and cook for two minutes to draw out the liquid, then remove the lid and cook for two more minutes on high heat to evaporate the liquid.
Add the mushrooms as well as the thyme to the minced mixture and stir well.
Preheat the oven to 160C (140C Fan or Gas Mark 3). As the oven is heating up, cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water and follow the packet instructions for how long it will take.
Drain the pasta, run it under cold water and then stir the pasta into the sauce.
Spoon everything into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle on both grated cheeses and bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
Take out the oven once the bolognese bake is golden on top, and your tasty pasta is now ready to serve.
