It’s that time of the year again when our plates are full with mince pies, roasted veggies, gingerbread cookies and pumpkin. All nice stuff… But, just in case you fancy a break and are looking for a nourishing quick recipe for the whole family, me and this delicious vegan bolognese are here for you! .

This bolognese sauce is made with nutritious tempeh and hearty mushrooms. Watch it, the dish has a high potential of becoming your family favorite weekday meal! 🙂 (pssst- my kids absolutely love it).

Ingredients

100g mushrooms, sliced

100g tempeh

1 small red onion

2 garlic cloves

3 small/medium carrots, grated

1 can of tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tsp Italian spice or oregano

1 tsp cayanne pepper

1 tsp paprika sweet 

1/2 tbsp maple syrup or 1 tsp coconut sugar

approx. 2 cups of water

salt, pepper, chilli flakes to taste

Method

1. Firstly, chop the onion and thinly slice garlic cloves. Heat up the pan with a bit of avocado oil or ghee and add the onion and garlic. Keep it on low heat and stir a few times.
2. Wash the mushrooms and set aside. Cut the tempeh into chunks, and together with mushrooms pulse a few times in a blender or food processor. You want the mix to be as small tiny peaces, not completely mashed.
3. When onion softened, add the tempeh/mushroom mix to the pan and let is sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the herbs, cayenne pepper, paprika and stir again.
4. Next, add canned tomatoes, tomato puree and carrots and stir well. Let it simmer for a bit, adding salt, pepper and the sweetener of choice (the sweetener brings up the tomato taste nicely!).
5. After a few minutes add 1 cup of water. Keep the sauce simmering on low/ medium heat for 10-15 min. Judge the about of water to add next – I found that I needed to add approx. 1 extra cup for a good consistency, it may be slightly less or more for you.
6. Adjust the flavor by adding more herbs, spice (cayenne pepper or chili) or sweetness (paprika or maple).
7. Serve with wholemeal or brown rice pasta. It taste amazing with some greens as a side (try fresh or sautéed spinach or kale!).