Saucy spag bol

“I am the queen of spaghetti Bolognese! It’s always been one of my favourite meals and I’m constantly striving for the perfect recipe. Bolognese itself might not be new, but this method to cook it all in one pan is a bit of a game-changer when you are looking for convenience and speed. Usually I recommend cooking Bolognese sauce for at least 40 minutes to develop the flavours and break down the tomatoes, but this is ready in 25 minutes and still tastes great. This extra-saucy version goes down really well with my kids, I chop the vegetables up extra-small so they don’t pick them out and they like the smooth passata in the sauce.” Pip Payne, @the_slimming_foodie

Calories per serving: 469

Prep time: 10minutes

Cook time: 25minutes

spray oil

1 onion, very finely chopped

500g (1lb 2oz) lean minced beef (less than 5 per cent fat)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 large carrot, peeled and very finely chopped

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

500ml (18fl oz) tomato passata

500ml (18fl oz) hot beef stock

250g (9oz) spaghetti, broken in half

salt and pepper

To serve

parsley or basil leaves

Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Spray a saute pan (with a lid) with oil, then fry the onion, minced beef, garlic and carrot for 8 minutes, stirring and breaking up any clumps in the meat (I use a wooden spoon

for this).

2. Stir in salt and pepper, the soy sauce and Italian seasoning. Pour in the passata and hot stock and bring to the boil.

3. Add the broken spaghetti to the sauce, make sure it’s all submerged and simmer fast for 15 minutes. Give it the occasional stir with a wooden spoon and try and shuffle the pasta to prevent it from sticking together (make sure it stays submerged though). Place the lid on for the final 5 minutes of cooking.

4. Stir well and test that the spaghetti is cooked through. If it isn’t quite cooked and the pan is a little dry, add a splash of boiling water, pop the lid on and cook for a few more minutes before checking again.

5. Serve scattered with herbs and a little Parmesan.

This recipe is from The Sunday Times Number 1 Bestseller, The Slimming Foodie in One by Pip Payne.