Helping our #WeAreBristol community to stay healthy, happy and active is our top priority at the moment, and we hope to achieve this in a variety of ways. One of these ways is by sharing some quick, simple and easy-to-cook healthy recipes with you, developed by our very own chef, Tim.
You might know Tim from our Coombe Dingle Pavilion kitchen, where he is usually found feeding the masses on #BUCSWednesdays and other events. Tim will be sharing a receipt with us every week, to inspire you to get creative in the kitchen and keep you and your family healthy!
A note from Tim about this recipe: “One of my favourite things to make at the moment is a mushroom bolognese. The key to making it brilliant is to shred the mushrooms really fine and use more of them than you’d think, because they shrink quite a lot. Even my son Eli, who has a principled stance against fungi in all forms will gobble them down when they’re prepared like this!”
Ingredients
- 400g mushrooms
- 1 large onion
- 2 medium carrots
- 1-2 garlic clove(s)
- Tomato pureé/paste
- Frozen peas
- Spaghetti
- Flaked chilli
- Soy sauce
- Optional: Basil (to garnish)
- Optional: Red wine or Balsamic vinegar
- Optional: Butter beans or chickpeas
Serves 3-4 adults or 2 adults + 2 children
How to make:
In a large pan, add a generous amount of oil before adding the shredded mushrooms with some soy sauce and black pepper.
Dice the onion in the meantime and add to the pan when the mushrooms have reduced in volume by about a third.
Finely grate the carrot and add to the mushrooms along with the frozen peas (and any other additional veg you like – e.g. courgette or bell pepper).
Whilst this is cooking, add your pasta to a pan of boiling water and cook as per the packet instructions.
To the Bolognese mixture add a generous amount of tomato paste (approx. 3 tablespoons).
Just before the mixture finishes cooking, add the diced garlic* to stir through.
Drain the pasta once cooked and serve.
Optional: add a sprig of basil to garnish.
Enjoy
Tim’s tips for this dish:
Tip 1: Mushrooms are the star of this dish, so when cooking make sure that a lot of the water has drained to increase the density and achieve a texture similar to meat or soy mince.
Tip 2: If appropriate to do so, and if you have it available to you, adding a splash of red wine or balsamic vinegar when adding the tomato paste to counteract the richness of the dish.
Tip 3: Garlic is added late in this dish to reduce cooking time – fresh garlic is great for the immune system!
Nutrition notes for this dish:
1. Adding a tin of butter beans of chickpeas will add valuable plant-based protein to this dish.
2. This dish is packed with fibre and vitamins because of the high veg content and quick cooking process.
3. A high dose of carbs can make you sleepy, so if you’re planning on having this for a lunchtime meal, consider a smaller portion to keep you alert.
4. Mushrooms have a unique property of being able to absorb vitamin D from the sun. Crazy but true! Stick your mushrooms on a window ledge for a few hours before cooking to get a VitD boost!