Beef bolognese with potato mash
The same slow bolognese as always, just spooned over mash instead of pasta. Proper comfort food, and a good way to use up potatoes before they turn.
Notable for: antioxidants, vitamin C, iron
Ingredients
- 750 gprime beef mince
- 1.2 kgwashed potatoes, peeled, chopped
- 300 gcarrots, grated
- 250 gbrown onions, fine dice
- 800 gchopped tomatoes, 2 cans
- 100 gtomato puree
- 15 gcrushed garlic
- 5 gdried mixed herbs
- 5 gbutter
- 100 mlstandard milk
- 1stock cubes, in 250 ml water
- 10 mlolive oil
Method
Put the potatoes on to boil in salted water until they fall off a knife, about 18 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pot and brown the beef hard in batches, draining off the excess fat.
Add the onion and grated carrot to the same pot and cook for 8 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and herbs for 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, puree and stock and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, until thick enough to hold a spoon mark.
Drain the potatoes well and mash them with the butter and milk until smooth, then season hard.
Spoon the bolognese over the mash to serve.
Drain the potatoes properly
Water left in the pot after draining waters down the mash no matter how much you beat it. A minute sitting in the dry, hot pot before mashing lets the last of the steam escape.
Storage
Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes well without the mash.
Mash reheats better with a splash of milk stirred through, since it dries out in the fridge.
Cost per serving is indicative, based on New Zealand supermarket prices as at September 2026. Batch prices your own week against your own store on the day. Nutrition figures, including calories, are estimates rather than label readings, so always check the packet if you have an allergy. "Notable for" reflects well-established qualities of the ingredients used, not a lab measurement of this exact dish.