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Halal-conscious recipe

Spaghetti bolognese without wine

A slow-simmered beef ragù with Halal mince, no streaky bacon and no red wine, finished with a rennet-checked hard cheese and served with spaghetti.

  • Cuisine Italian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 6 plates
  • Time 2h 15m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Pasta with a chunky red tomato sauce
Photograph from our ingredient library: penne with tomato sauce, not the finished dish.

Why Halal checks matter here

BBC Good Food's bolognese starts with smoked bacon and adds red wine to the sauce, the mince and stock are only Halal from Halal slaughter, and the Parmesan stirred in is traditionally made with animal rennet.

Spaghetti bolognese is a beef and tomato sauce in the style of an Italian ragù: chopped vegetables, beef mince and tomatoes simmered until thick. BBC Good Food's 'best' version starts by frying four rashers of smoked streaky bacon and later pours 125 ml of red wine into the sauce. Neither is needed: the long simmer, rosemary and tomato purée give the depth.

This version leaves the bacon out (Halal beef bacon is an option if you miss the smokiness) and puts water where the wine was. The mince and stock cube need to be Halal, and the cheese stirred in at the end should name microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, because Parmesan is traditionally made with animal rennet.

Keep the lid on and the heat low for the full simmer, and add a splash of water if it thickens too fast. The pasta page covers what to check on a dried-pasta pack.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Smoked streaky bacon It is pork, and the original fries four rashers before anything else goes in. Leave it out, or use Halal beef bacon. See Bacon.
  • Red wine The original adds 125 ml of red wine to the sauce. Simmering it does not make it Halal on this site. Use water, as here. See Wine.
  • Mince and stock Beef and beef stock are Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy Halal mince and a Halal-certified stock cube or pot.
  • Parmesan Parmesan is traditionally made with animal rennet, and scholars differ on rennet from animals not slaughtered the Halal way. Use a hard cheese that names microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet. See Parmesan.

Safe substitutes

  • Smoked streaky bacon → Nothing, or Halal beef bacon
  • Red wine → The same amount of water
  • Parmesan → A hard cheese with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet

Allergens

gluten (spaghetti), milk (cheese), celery

Ingredients

Ragù

  • 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
  • 4 rashers optional Halal beef bacon, finely chopped, in place of the smoked streaky bacon
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2–3 sprigs rosemary, leaves finely chopped
  • 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) Halal beef mince
  • 2 × 400 g (2 cans) canned plum tomatoes
  • small pack (small bunch) basil, ¾ finely chopped, the rest whole to serve
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 Halal beef stock cube or pot
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
  • 125 ml (½ cup) water, in place of the red wine
  • 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 75 g (¾ cup) hard cheese with microbial, vegetable or Halal-certified rennet, grated, plus extra to serve

To serve

  • 400 g (14 oz) spaghetti
  • to serve crusty bread (optional)

Method

  1. Soften the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. If using Halal beef bacon, fry it for about 10 minutes until golden; the original fries smoked streaky bacon here. Lower the heat, add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and rosemary and fry for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft.
  2. Brown the beef. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the mince and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until browned all over.
  3. Add the tomatoes and water. Add the plum tomatoes, the chopped basil, oregano, bay, tomato purée, stock cube, chilli if using, the 125 ml of water where the original uses red wine, and the cherry tomatoes. Stir, breaking up the plum tomatoes.
  4. Simmer. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until rich and thick. Stir in the cheese and check the seasoning.
  5. Cook the pasta and serve. Near the end, cook the spaghetti as the pack says. Drain it and stir it into the sauce, or serve the sauce on top, with more cheese, the whole basil leaves and bread if you like.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Best spaghetti bolognese' (bacon fried crisp, then onion, carrot, celery, garlic and rosemary softened, beef mince browned, plum tomatoes, basil, oregano, bay, tomato purée, beef stock, chilli, 125 ml red wine and cherry tomatoes simmered covered for 1 hour 15 minutes, Parmesan stirred in, served with spaghetti). We left out its 4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon (Halal beef bacon is an option), replaced the red wine with water, and specified Halal mince and stock and a rennet-checked hard cheese. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Best spaghetti bolognese — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 6: olive oil, 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, 500 g beef mince, 2 cans plum tomatoes, basil, oregano, bay, tomato purée, 1 beef stock, chilli, 125 ml red wine, cherry tomatoes, 75 g Parmesan, 400 g spaghetti; simmered 1 hour 15 minutes. We removed the bacon and wine.

  2. Pasta analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Pasta, sauce and cheese checks.

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