EASY PEASY VEGGIE BOLOGNESY

Spaghetti Bolognese is a dish that just screams out to be eaten when you just fancy a big bowl of comfort food, served up in a big bowl and placed on your lap on a chilly evening to warm you right up to the core. Sometimes you want that bowl of goodness as quick as humanly possible and this vegetarian bolognese is so quick and simple it's ideal for busy working or sleepy tired folk who want to put in the minimal amount of effort at tea time! All you need to a bag of good old Quorn mince, lots of veg, stock, herbs, spice and most importantly a good glug of red wine.

As this is a vegetarian recipe, the good old Quorn mince is getting another outing. You can use meaty mince instead if you're a ravenous carnivore and please take a look online or follow packet instructions for guide times on cooking. Same applies to the stock, feel free to use a meaty stock if you wish.

The veg that I've used in my bolognase have been used as I find their flavors to compliment the paprika and oregano in the sauce. You can leave out any veg that you don't like (not the onions though! You need these for the sauce base!) and replace it with alternatives such as carrots or courgettes. Make sure whatever you use that you finely dice the veg as this will speed up the cooking time and means you can get to eating your bolognase quicker.

I like the smokiness that the paprika brings to the sauce but if you prefer a bit of a spice kick then replace it with 2 tbsp of chili flakes or even chop in some fresh chilies and fry it in with the garlic. If you don't drink alcohol or don't like red wine you can simply top up the sauce with some extra stock so that the sauce doesn't end up being too thick! You can even mix up the green herbs (although if you leave out the bay I would think you were insane!) if you wish and always remember to season well.

With an ample amount of spaghetti made, the recipe below will make four portion of easy peasy bolognasy for a fabulous dinnertime treat!.

EASY PEASY BOLOGNESY

1 Large Diced Onion

2 Grated Garlic Cloves

3 Large Finely Chopped Mushrooms

1 Large Finely Chopped Celery Stalk

200g Quorn Mince
Handfull Of Halved Cherry Tomatoes
 1 Finely Diced Red Pepper

 A Dash Worcestershire Sauce

400g Tin Of Chopped Tomatoes

150ml Red Wine

400ml Veggie Stock

2 Tbsp Tomato Puree

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tbsp Paprika

2 Bay Leaves

Salt And Pepper To Season

1. Turn up a large lightly oiled pan to a medium heat and once the pan is warm add in the onions and garlic and fry until the onions begin to soften. Chuck in the Quorn mince, mushrooms, celery, and fry until the celery begins to soften.
2. Add in the cherry tomatoes and red pepper and fry until the peppers begin to soften. Splash in the Worcester sauce and tip in the chopped tomatoes, red wine, veggie stock and puree and give everything a good mix before adding in the oregano, paprika and bay leaves.
3. Mix everything together again and season with salt and pepper before bringing everything up to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for at least 30 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened.

When the bolognase is at around the last ten minutes of simmering, rustle up enough spaghetti to feed your hungry brood (however big they may be) according to the packet instructions. Remember to tip a bit of the spaghetti water into the bolgonese before draining the rest off the cooked spaghetti and then throw the spaghetti into the sauce. This will help the sauce to coat all the pasta when you mix it all together and there you have it! An easy to make and quick to whip up yummy bolognese that I find is always best served with some big slabs of cheesy garlic bread that is still hot out of the oven. "Buon Appetito!"