Spicy Beef and Tomato Tagliatelle

This minced beef recipe is similar to a Bolognese dish, but with a spicy kick and more emphasis is on the meat rather than the tomato sauce. Nonetheless it has great Italian flavours and is lovely with olives and tagliatelle sprinkled with chili oil.

Ingredients

500g minced beef
4 to 6 cloves of garlic
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 medium red chili
1 large onion
1 400g tin of plum tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Method

1. I almost always like to brown the mince first and with a pack this size I will usually do this in two batches and then place to one side.
2. Using the same pan add a little vegetable oil and on a high heat cook the chopped onion, garlic and chili for five minutes. Stir regularly.
3. Return the beef to the pan and mix in the dried vegetables and the tomato puree.
4. Cook for five minutes, again stirring often as the dish will stick due to being quite dry.
5. Now add the tin of plum tomatoes and break up the plums. I find this gives thicker consistency than pre-chopped tomatoes. 
6. Cook for a further five minutes, adding a sprinkle of salt and a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper.

Cook the Tagliatelle according to instructions and place on a plate with a drizzle of chili oil. Now spoon on the minced beef mixture and serve with a side of stuffed olives.

Check out other minced beef recipes - I do cook a lot of these, which I guess is rather lazy.