You can’t beat a nice bolognaise. The secret I believe is in the tomato paste as an extra in your sauce . It delivers a depth that a tin of tomatoes just can’t match . Sun dried tomatoes do this as well but much more expensive and will add lots of calories if they are in oil.
This lovely sauce mix starts off in the food processor and it’s really versatile mix . Most will not even notice all the veg and beans in there . It’s much much cheaper than “real mince” and also cheaper than your store bought plant mince . And best of all you know exactly what’s in it!
You can change up the flavours to use as a Mexican mince , add chilli and extra beans for chilli beans or simply roll into meatballs . It’s a really great base . I froze the rest of my mix so I can easily prepare a meal when I’m in a hurry and hungry !
Plant based Mince
( You will need a food processor for this)
x1 Tin of Black-beans
x1 tin of Lentils
Half a Cauliflower
1 Carrot
1 Red Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1- 2 C Mushrooms
1/2 C Walnuts
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Smoky Paprika
1 Tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1 Tsp Italian Herbs
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 C breadcrumbs or oats ( works without this but it does help to bind it)
Drain your beans well. Chop up the veg so it’s easier for your food processor. It’s quite a big mix so you might need to do in batches if you don’t have a big mixer. Just put into a big bowl and stir well. Will keep for 3-4 days in fridge or freeze in flat bags of containers in serving sizes .
Bolognaise Sauce
Place a portion of the plant mince into a frypan and stir fry over a medium heat . Add a tin of tomato’s , a large tsp on date syrup . Keep cooking until it’s all cooked through and hot . Do a quick taste test for seasonings and adjust to your liking!
Enjoy your plants
Cath 