mitch's famous spaghetti bolognese

Spag Bol... what could be more comforting, yet so easy and quick to prepare? The classic!
After chatting to good friend of mine the other day, he mentioned that he wanted an easy recipe for a classic dish that he could quickly prepare for his wife after work, say on random Wednesday or "date night" for that matter. Or even a quick meal for friends that pop over after work for a quick meal during the week. So this got me thinking... My famous spaghetti bolognese is pretty simple. It's pretty quick. And it's ALWAYS a hit! Thank you Anthony for the inspiration behind this recipe, I look forward to hearing / seeing all about your culinary experiences of you enjoying it with Kerri-Anne over a glass of red.
So here we go...

mitch's famous spaghetti bolognese

Cook time: 15 minutes prep + 45 minutes cooking

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

500g Extra Lean minced meat
1 Large onion (finely chopped)
1 Red Pepper (finely chopped)
2-3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 chilli (optional)
1 tin chopped Italian tomatoes
2 tins tomato paste
Beef Stock (your choice) in 250ml of water  / 250ml Liquid beef stock
2 tbsp Rosemary (Dry)
2 tbsp Oreganum (Dry)
2 tbsp Sweet Basil (Dry)
1 packet of black mushrooms (roughly chopped)

1 packet of Spaghetti
Parmesan to taste
Salt & Pepper

Note: I like to use a mixture of fresh and dry herbs, but you really don't have to. The flavour is just as good.

Instructions:
On a medium heat gently fry the onion and red pepper in some olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and chilli at this point. Remove and place in a bowl.
Brown minced meat on high, add the dry spice ingredients and mix together well. Add the onion and red pepper mixture back in and stir. Next, add the tin of tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the beef stock and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Now add the mushrooms and cook for a further 30 minutes. Adjust seasoning at this point.

Cook pasta according to instructions.

Plate pasta and bolognese sauce and serve with parmesan. Tear basil leaves over pasta. Serve.

Tips: to add extra "body" to the bolognese sauce, you can add a splash of red wine.