One Pan Bolognese Pasta Bake

I've just gotten addicted with "one pan", "one pot", "one skillet" or whatever cooking vessel, recipes again recently. Let me explain. I do make "one pan meals" from time to time after sharing the post on "One Pan Roast Chicken and Vegetable". But ever since we picked up jogging this year, I became feverently obsessed with them. 

See, I haven't been very physically active since mid teen years. A jog is not only taxing on this set of old bones but also sucks my soul and leaves my brain drained. 😆 Hence the need for a quick, easy and fuss-free meal grows stronger than ever!

This particular recipe came by because every single time I'm brain dead and don't know what to cook for dinner, hubs will ask me to cook Bolognese Pasta. No exception today when I asked him the age-old question after our jog. And since I never like doing dishes, I tried to cook everything in just one frying pan.

One Pan Bolognese Pasta Bake (serves 2-3)

  15g     Onion, minced
    5g     Garlic, minced
 1 tsp    Dried Oregano/ Thyme/ Basil
200g     Beef Mince 
    1       Portobello Mushroom, cubed

150g     Dry Pasta, uncooked
250g     Marinara sauce, homemade or store bought
200-300g Water

Salt and Pepper
Cheese

Optional
small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 200°C

1. In a frying pan/skillet, sauté onion and garlic till fragrant and onion turns slightly translucent.

2. Add the beef mince, dried herbs and fry till meat is no longer pink, then add in the portobello mushroom cubes and cook till slightly softened.

3. Add in the dry pasta, marinara or passata and 200g of water to the pan. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring and turning frequently for about 10mins

4. Add more water if needed, till pasta is just cooked and most of the water has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Remove from heat. Top the pasta with cheese and bake in oven for 15-20mins till cheese has melted and is golden brown. Cool slightly, garnish with fresh parsley (if using) and serve.

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Thoughts: Pasta with bolognese sauce is a simple and homely dish. It was one of the first "angmoh" (western) dishes I learned. Cook the sauce in a pan, boil the pasta in a pot, mix both together and serve. It was very easy for a young kid although I did use store bought, ready-to-use pasta sauce. It's even better now that everything can be cooked in the same pan! Woohoo!

For the dried herbs, you can either choose one or any combination of them, or you can just use pre-mix Italian herbs, that'll work too. For a stronger tomato taste, switch marinara sauce for tomato passata. Just note that passata is more concentrated than marinara, so start with a lesser amount than what the recipe called for. 

The meal was ready in under an hour, including the preparation time. Added bonus for less things to wash. If you serve directly in the pan, there's only the knife, chopping board, utensils and frying pan. Since it's just hubs and me, that was exactly what we did. Yes, I am that lazy... Haha! If you need a quicker meal, you can skip baking in the oven and stir in the cheese directly. Or just skip the cheese altogether, then the meal will be ready in 30mins and less. But of course, you'll be missing the delicious baked cheese top. 

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