Campfire Spaghetti Bolognese

High on the list of the comfort food, Spaghetti Bolognese is a childhood classic that everyone has a personal twist on. It’s a nice change to what usually gets cooked on the fire or BBQ, not everyone is a fan of lumps of grilled meat, this offers a nice way to feed a lot of people relatively easily and quickly. There is an added dynamic from cooking with fire, changing the heat can be difficult but it comes with practice and it doesn’t have any effect on the flavour (just the cooking time). Key to making Spaghetti Bolognese is good seasoning and flavours: mince has a nice lean flavour, but I add a mixed stock to soak into the meat. I also add hot sauce because I like hot sauce, not compulsory.

To make this for four you’ll need:

• Mince (500g)

• Passata (1 half-jar)

• Onion (1/2 diced)

• Bell pepper (1/2 diced)

• Spaghetti

• Garlic (1 clove/diced)

• Meat stock (1/2 cup)

• Fish sauce

• Hot Sauce

• Salt & Pepper

• Red wine (for cooking and drinking while you cook)

• Butter

1) Put on a pan of salted water, once boiling place the spaghetti in the pan. After the strands become your desired texture, strain and return to the pan, cover with a lid, and place to one side (you should know how to cook spaghetti by now).

2) Place a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and melt the butter until the base of the pan is coated.

3) Place the mince into the pan and break up with a wooden spoon, stir to ensure the mince is cooked evenly.

4) Once the mince is lightly browned add the onion and pepper. Stir the veg into the butter and cook until the skins begin to soften.

5) Once that is done, add passata and stir so all the meat and veg is covered, drop the heat and reduce to a simmer.

6) Then into half a cup of meat stock add a dash each of fish sauce, hot sauce and a strong red wine. Season with salt and pepper, and let the sauce cook down till it thickens and becomes smooth.

7) Once the sauce is bubbling and cooked, tip into the pasta pan and stir through to warm the pasta. Serve with cheese and black pepper, and plenty more wine on the side.

The hardest element of cooking with fire is controlling the heat, whether that’s increasing or decreasing. Fortunately, the answer is as basic as it gets, if it needs to be hotter add more fuel, if it needs to be cooler carefully remove or reduce the fuel. When cooking on wood it’s as easy to take the food off as it is moving the still alight and often very very hot logs away. The trick to cooking on fire is to get the temperature right at the beginning, which often means cooking on coals instead of the logs. Cooking on wood that hasn’t burnt down means that your food will often be blackened by soot which is the all the impurities burning off the purer natural carbon. Just because it’s burnt on the outside doesn’t mean its cooked on the inside. A good way to make people not want to come over to yours’ for food is give them a burnt sausage in a soggy white roll. If this is what you are going for burn away my friend, or even better under cook it! But for those who like their friends and want to keep it tasty and safe, cook on hot ashes and test the internal meat temperature throughout. When cooking meat like mince make sure it’s browned evenly and cut any large pieces up before you add the sauce, to check the beef is cooked all the way through.

This can be a good campfire meal for vegetarians and vegans with beef mince alternatives, and the easiness of making big or small portions means it’s perfect for family get togethers around the bonfire and couples’ camping trips. If you make too much, freeze it and eat it another time, to remind you why all your clothes now smell of wood smoke.

If you’d like to see me make this, please check out the Smoke & Slate YouTube Channel.

Kind regards,

J.T.