Hidden Veg Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves 4 portions

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 500g lean beef mince
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 1 medium zucchini, grated
• 200g button mushrooms, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp dried Italian herbs
• 700g jar tomato passata
• 1 cup beef stock or water
• 500g spaghetti or pasta of choice

To serve

• Salt & pepper
• Grated Parmesan, to serve

Cooking Instructions 

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking up mince with a large spoon, until onions are soft and mince is browned.
2.  Add garlic, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, tomato paste and herbs to pan and continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add passata and stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. While the sauce cooks, prepare pasta according to packet instructions and drain. Divide pasta between bowls and top with bolognaise mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan to serve.

Tips

1. For even quicker prep, pulse veggies in a food processor until finely chopped.
2. To further disguise veggies, omit beef in step 1, carefully transfer cooked tomato sauce to a blender or food processor (end of step 2) and pulse until smooth. Then brown the mince, return pureed sauce to pan with the beef, and cook a further 5 mins.