This sauce is an alternative to traditional bolognese sauce, using roasted sweet pepper sauce instead of tomatoes.
It is not only reflux*-friendly and low-fat, but so delicious, I think I might actually like it more than traditional bolognese sauce!!!
I am usually very critical of using garlic in a bolognese sauce – it should just be ‘soffritto’ (finely chopped carrots, celery and onions, fried off in olive oil), beef, tomatoes and salt. And of course if, as a reflux sufferer, garlic affects you, then you can make the roasted sweet pepper sauce without garlic – simply roast the peppers with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of fine sea salt (don’t use herbs as they’ll affect the taste of the bolognese sauce!). But, if you can tolerate roasted garlic, then it’s well worth sticking to using it in the pepper sauce as it adds extra depth of flavour.
Ingredients:
- Roasted sweet pepper sauce (Make this in advance and refrigerate or freeze before using – this will make the cooking process for the sauce very quick! – and make it slightly runnier than usual, using approximately 200-250ml of chicken or vegetable stock when blending/’cleaning out’ the blender. How much sauce you use in your bolognese will depend on how meaty or ‘saucy’ you like it – if you haven’t previously frozen the roasted pepper sauce, you can freeze any you don’t use.)
- 500g lean minced beef (I use 5% fat minced beef)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped (leave out the onion if this affects your reflux)
- a sprinkling of sea salt
- 1tbsp olive oil
Method:
If you have already made the roasted sweet pepper sauce, the bolognese is very quick to make, so put on your pasta water (with a good handful of coarse sea salt and a drop of oil, of course) before you start. Your sauce will be ready even before your pasta is cooked.
Place the finely-chopped onions in a non-stick sauté pan with the oil and cook on a medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, making sure the onions don’t brown – stir frequently and get them to the point where they are translucent and mostly cooked. (Skip this step if your reflux prevents you from using onions)
Turn the heat up to high and add the minced meat with a sprinkling of salt. Separate the meat as you brown it, making sure it doesn’t form big clumps.
Once the meat is browned, add enough roasted sweet pepper sauce to get the desired sauce consistency. Turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce is piping hot and the meat is cooked through.
Serve with your pasta – cooked ‘al dente’, of course!
Gloriously simple, Gloriously Low-Fat, Gloriously Low-Cal, Gloriously Reflux-Friendly, Gloriously Good!
*Please note I am not a doctor, speech therapist or in any way medically qualified. The recipes are a combination of my interpretation of the rules outlined in the ‘Dropping Acid – The Reflux Diet’ book and ingredients that work for my reflux. If you believe you suffer from reflux, please seek advice from a medical professional to confirm your diagnosis and work out the best course of treatment/management for you. I hope that my recipes can help you as part of this management. The recipes are, by their nature, very low in fat, so are also suitable for anyone wishing to follow a low-fat diet.