Mushroom & lentil ragu

This is a great alternative to the usual meaty Bolognese sauce to serve with your pasta – and it’s good for lasagne, too. We like to include lentils, but you can also use quorn or a combo of the two. If you want to use just quorn, add 500g.

SERVES 6-8 PREP 15 minutes COOK about 1 hour

• 250g puy or brown lentils

• 1tbsp olive oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped

• 1 large carrot, finely chopped

• 250g mushrooms, finely chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 1tsp dried oregano

• 200ml red wine

• 1tbsp tomato purée

• 400g can of chopped tomatoes

• sea salt and black pepper

TO SERVE

• 50g linguine or spaghetti per person

• shavings of vegetarian Parmesan-style hard cheese (optional)

1 Cook the lentils according to the packet instructions, then set them aside. Be careful not to overcook them – they should still have a little bite so they don’t collapse when added to the sauce.

2 Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, celery and carrot and a splash of water. Cover the pan with a lid and fry the vegetables gently, stirring regularly, for at least 10 minutes until they have softened. Add the mushrooms and garlic, turn up the heat slightly and cook until any liquid coming from the mushrooms has evaporated. Sprinkle in the oregano followed by the cooked puy lentils.

3 Pour in the red wine and cook fiercely until most of it has evaporated, then add tomato purée and canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and, if the sauce seems too liquid, cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.

4 Serve with linguine or spaghetti

– a 50g serving will add about 180 calories to your total – and a little Parmesan-style cheese, if you like.

302 CALORIES PER SERVING (6); 226 CALORIES PER SERVING (8)