VEGGIE PACKED BOLOGNESE

No meal allows you to not only pack in a heap of veggies but also to hide those veggies quite like Bolognese does!

This version is vegetarian but feel free to add in minced meat if you wish. The veggies are also flexible so feel free to add in whatever is in season (because the veggies all get blitzed to a similar texture don’t be afraid to use things like broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts which aren’t often associated with Bolognese). I use a mix of pasta and zucchini pasta but you may want to alter this depending on your goals (for example more pasta if you’re very active or less if you’re more sedentary).

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 x onion
2 x garlic cloves
2 sprigs rosemary
1 x celery stalk
1 x red capsicum
1 cup mushrooms
1 x carrot
1 x broccoli
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes (optional)
2 x cans or 2 cups cooked lentils, drained and rinsed 1 x 400g jar tomato passata
1 x cans diced tomatoes
2 handfuls of spinach
1 handful of basil
2 x zucchini, mandolined/spiralised
1/2 packet wholegrain or pulse pasta
Parmesan to serve if desired

Directions

Roughly chop the onion and veggies into large chunks. Place the onion, garlic and rosemary into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add to a large pot/fry pan on medium heat with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile add the celery, capsicum, mushrooms, carrot, broccoli and sun dried tomatoes to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Add the veggies to the pot and cook for 5 minutes before adding the lentils, passata, diced tomatoes (and if yours needs more liquid then add some stock/water). Meanwhile put a pot of water on for the pasta (use a steamer pot) and cook according to packet instructions. In the final few minutes add the zucchini pasta to the steamer and steam over the pasta cooking (you can throw into the pasta water if you want but steamer will retain more nutrients), then drain the pasta and mix the zucchini pasta in with it.

Finally add the spinach and basil to the pasta sauce (you can leave this sauce to simmer for as long as you like but no doubt you have hungry tummies to feed), once the spinach has wilted serve it up with your pasta and Parmesan on top if you desire.