Did you know that January is slow cooker month? Slow cookers are a great way to produce low-cost tasty meals using left overs and are very cheap to run.

All this month, we’ll be sharing some tasty slow cooker recipes which were created for FareShare Greater Manchester by the Manchester United Foundation’s chefs.

Slow Cooker Pasta Bolognese

Serves 4-5 portions

Cooking time: 6-6½ hours on a high heat

This dish requires a little cooking before it goes into the slow cooker.

Ingredients:

For the Bolognese

• 400g mince (beef, turkey, veggie or pork) [Tip: this dish is usually made with a mix of minced beef & pork, but any will do]
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 3 large carrots (diced)
• ½ tsp of dried Italian mixed herbs
• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (2 x 400g)
• 1 stock cube (beef, chicken or vegetable)
• 50ml water
• 3 tsp red wine vinegar (optional)
• 1 tbsp tomato puree (40g)
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• Pinch of sugar

For the pasta

• 320g Penne pasta
• 300ml water

Method:

• Wash, peel and dice the carrots and onions into small cubes (alternatively if you have a blender, blitz them with a little water; tomato puree, herbs, salt, pepper, sugar – to a pulp).
• Heat a large pot on the stove and add in the minced meat. Using a wooden spoon, break up the meat into small pieces and fry until it is brown in colour (if using vegetarian mince, this does not require browning).
• Add the carrot, onion, tomato puree and fry until soft.
• Once cooked, mix all of the ingredients together and place in the slow cooker. Stir well, pop the lid on and cook for 5 hours on a high heat.
• Lift the lid, stir the sauce and add the penne pasta (uncooked) with 300 ml of water. Stir well, replace the lid and cook for a further 1 hour.
• After that time, lift the lid, stir the sauce and check the pasta is cooked. Taste to check the seasoning and consistency of the sauce. If it’s too wet, leave the lid off and cook for a further 10 minutes.
• Serve with garlic bread and grated parmesan (optional).

This slow cooker bolognese recipe contains ALLERGENS. Please check all ingredients lists carefully if you need to avoid allergens in your food, including all food labels.