Winter Beetroot Bolognese

Its not the first time I declare my love of beetroot. Beetroot is a fantastic vegetable that you can do so many things with. It’s superb during late summer when first dug up, but is so good at keeping fresh right through to winter. It gets woodier, but it comes back to life when used in recipes like this Winter Beetroot Bolognese.

You can add a meat substitute like quorn mince, or even a can of kidney beans for added fill, but its not strictly necessary as the beetroot and mushrooms give this dish a fantastic wholesome texture.

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1 large beetroot
2 medium or 1 large carrot
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 tin organic tomatoes
big handful or 9 button mushrooms
250g quorn mince (optional)
3tbsp red lentils
2 tsp hot paprika
2 tsp dried or fresh oregano
5 fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp red wine or red wine vinegar
1tbsp tomato purée
half a tin of water
salt and pepper to taste
250g spaghetti
Parmesan and rocket to garnish.

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Wash and chop all the vegetables (except the garlic), and put in a large pan with a good helping of olive oil and sauté for a couple of min. Now add the chopped garlic, sauté for a min more. Add the oregano, hot paprika, basil and quorn if using and let the ingredients mix together. Now add the tin of tomatoes, tomato purée, red wine vinegar, and fill the empty tomato can with water and add to the pot. Finally add the lentils and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. More water can be added if mixture looks too dry.
Put a lid on your pot and let it simmer for 45 min string occasionally.

10 min before the bolognese is ready, add the spaghetti to a pan of boiling water and cook al dente.

Drain the spaghetti and drizzle olive oil over the pasta, serve with the bolognese topped with parmesan and rocket.