Who here is taking part in Veganuary? I’m not myself, I think I could live without meat but I would struggle to give up butter, eggs and milk! Even if you are not doing Veganuary you might be trying to have meat free meals more often. And if so then this Vegetable Bolognese should definitely make it to your meal plan soon.
Maybe you want to cut back on the meat you eat because of environmental issues or maybe budget issues. Meat is the biggest expense on our food shopping so just one meat free meal a week can make a big difference to how much you spend. I often use less meat in meals by adding in more veg like in my traditional lasagne and cauliflower cottage pie.
When making this I either grate of finely chop all the veg so it still looks much the same as bolognese with minced beef in. The herbs and garlic plus the simmering time make sure that it still has lots of flavour.
What do you think about meat free meals once in a while? Cutting out the meat isn’t an issue for me but my husband is not as much of a fan, and getting Mason to eat vegetables at all is a daily challenge. Let me know if you give this Vegetable Bolognese a try!
Lianne x
Vegetable Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 large carrots grated
- 4 large mushrooms grated
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 red pepper finely chopped
- 1 medium courgette grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 500 g tomato passata
- 1-2 tbsp dried mixed herbs how much you add is up to you
- salt and pepper to season
- spaghetti to serve I usually cook 70g of dried pasta per person
Instructions
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Peel, chop and grate all the vegetables. In a large saucepan over a medium heat add the olive oil and then all the prepped vegetables. Leave these to cook down, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes.
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Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato passata and mixed herbs to the pan. Stir well, turn up the heat and then bring to a boil.
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Once boiling, turn the heat to low and leave to simmer for 30-40 minutes. The longer you leave it the better it tastes!
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If you are serving with pasta cook it following the pack instructions.
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Season your vegetable bolognese to taste and serve with the cooked pasta. I also like to add a little cheese sprinkled over the top. Enjoy!
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