The joys of a herb garden and my recipe for Spaghetti Bolognaise 1260x542
30 Apr 2010

The joys of a herb garden and my recipe for Spaghetti Bolognaise

2 mins to read
By Kathryn Terrill: Native to the Mediterranean, it doesn't surprise me that this is one of the survivors of a long since tended to garden, especially here in this sandy soil. There's no doubt about it, rosemary is pretty hardy, especially if it is well drained and in hot dry conditions.


By Kathryn Terrill: Recently I moved into a new home which came complete with the leftovers of someone's hard work at getting a herb and vege garden up and running.

As I poked around outside I discovered reminders of the garden's former glory, with some of the more hardy perennials poking out with resilience from under the onslaught of tenacious weeds. One such plant was the delightfully pungent rosemary.


Native to the Mediterranean, it doesn't surprise me that this is one of the survivors of a long since tended to garden, especially here in this sandy soil. There's no doubt about it, rosemary is pretty hardy, especially if it is well drained and in hot dry conditions.

As I pondered the plight of this small plant in front of me, I started to take a trip down memory lane. How long had it been since I'd cooked with rosemary? I realised that it had indeed been a while. And what did I use it for? Primarily it was for my own version of spaghetti bolognaise.

The rosemary plant was there. So was the memory of eating that wonderful dish, and the seed was planted. I would cook spaghetti bolognaise that very evening! I enjoyed it so much that I thought that I would share my version of the traditional recipe:

Spaghetti Bolognaise (my style)

Spaghetti (fresh and/or organic if possible)
2 tins of diced tomatoes (with no additives – just tomatoes and tomato juice)
300g of organic beef mince (low fat)
8 cloves of finely chopped garlic (yep!)
one small finely chopped brown onion
1 large grated carrot
1 medium grated zucchini
1 ten centimetre stick of fresh rosemary (stripped from the stem and finely chopped)
1 handful of fresh oregano (stripped from the stem and finely chopped)
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
grated or shaved parmesan

1. Put pasta on to boil as per directions
2. brown onions in olive oil just until the colour starts to change
3. add mince and brown for 3 minutes on high heat
4. add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds
5. add tins of tomatoes and rosemary and oregano
6. add carrot and zucchini when the added tomatoes start bubbling and are hot
7. top up with water so that all ingredients are covered in liquid
8. add salt and pepper to taste
9. simmer without a lid until sauce thickens to desired thickness (usually takes about 10 mins or so. You want a nice, rich, dark red sauce)
10. Don't forget to stir a lot throughout the whole process to prevent sticking and to ensure even cooking
11. When ready, serve sauce on top of hot pasta
12. add parmesan and extra salt and pepper to taste if needed
13. serve with fresh rocket leaves with balsamic and olive oil drizzled on top 

Bon appetit!

I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did...



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