Easy, quick, and delicious everyday dish - which most kids love.
Recipe for child-friendly pasta meat sauce
Easy, quick, and delicious everyday dish – loved by most children.
Although I am a big fan of the original Italian pasta Bolognese, I can be easily convinced when my 4-year-old daughter Karen tilts her head and asks if we can have “Hanne’s meat sauce.” Hanne is the cook in her kindergarten, and it’s one of her favorite dishes. The original “ragù” is a slow-cooked dish that ideally should be made over many hours. Here, the dish can be made in 15 minutes, but if you have more time, there’s no harm in spending 30-60 minutes on it – it will only get better.
Servings: people
Child-friendly pasta meat sauce
Easy, quick, and delicious everyday dish - which most kids love.
Equipment
- Sauté Pan
- Cutting Board
- Pre-Slicing Knife
- Chef'S Knife
- Pot
Ingredients
- 400 gram Ground Beef
- 14 gram Oil neutral flavor
- 2 gram Curry
- 5 gram Tomato Puree
- 2 pcs. Carrots
- 1 pcs. Onion
- 1 clove Garlic
- 2 pcs. Bell Pepper preferably in different colors
- 75 gram White Wine can be replaced with red wine
- 1 can Passata or peeled or chopped tomatoes
- 200 gram Beef Stock can be replaced with 2 dl water and a bouillon cube
- 75 gram Cream
- Spices Salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar, and possibly anchovy fillet
- 250 gram Pasta Karen prefers screws (fusilli) for this dish
- Parmesan grated, to sprinkle on top of the dish
- Corn to sprinkle on top of the dish
Instructions
"Hanne meat sauce"
- Start by heating your (saute) pan on full blast. The key is to get a nice sear on the meat.
- When it’s hot, add the meat. If you’re using meat with a low fat percentage (under 7%), add neutral-flavored oil when frying it. Chop/spread the meat so it gets a sear all over.
- In the meantime, cut the carrots/peppers into larger cubes and finely chop the onion and garlic. I usually grate the onion because my daughter isn't fond of it.
- When the meat is seared on all sides, push the meat a bit to the side.
- Add a little oil to the center of the pan and add tomato paste and curry into the oil, letting it toast a bit/take on color.
- Add onions, garlic, peppers, and carrots. Turn down the heat; I usually go from 14 to 10 (on a stove that goes to 14).
- Add the wine and let most of it evaporate. This takes a couple of minutes.
- Add tomato passata/chopped tomatoes and stock. Optionally reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes. If you have extra time, you can let it simmer for up to 30 minutes more.
- Add cream and let it simmer for a couple more minutes.
- Now it’s time to taste:
- Start by seasoning with salt and pepper and taste. I love adding a small amount of anchovy fillet to stews because I think it adds depth of flavor. You won’t taste the fish. If you’re not up for it, just add a bit more salt.
- Add a little lemon juice, sugar, and vinegar (I typically use apple cider or white wine vinegar) and taste again.
- Continue until you’re satisfied. I also like a bit of cayenne pepper in it, but be careful with it if you’re serving the dish to small children.
Pasta
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions in plenty of salt.
- Drain the pasta, but don’t be thorough. Some of the liquid should go into the meat sauce as it helps bind everything together.
Serving
- Grate fresh parmesan over it and add corn if you like.
- Enjoy.