Lentil-mince Bolognaise

Written by Catherine Saxelby on Wednesday, 06 June 2018.

Ready In: 60 minutes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

This is an easy way to downsize your portions of meat as you use HALF the mince and boost the flavour with lentils. It's a plant-focussed recipe that works - it adds fibre and slowly-digested carbs plus stretches the meat so it goes further. Plus it's a hearty dish to cook when the weather is cold outside.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
250 g beef mince
1 x 400 g can of lentils, drained and rinsed
2 x 400 g cans of diced tomatoes
½ cup red wine or water
1/2 teaspoon dried herbs such as Italian herbs or oregano
250 g dried linguine or thin spaghetti (half a packet)
TO SERVE:
grated Parmesan cheese

Nutrition per serve

With 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese: 1,625 kJ (390 Calories), 8 g fat (including 2 g saturated fat), 55 g carbohydrate (including 8 g sugars), 8 g fibre and 430 mg sodium.

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium-large frypan on medium heat
Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until pale (stir so it doesn't catch)
Add the red pepper and mince. Stir through for 2 minutes, breaking up any lumps with a large wooden spoon.
Add the lentils, tomatoes, wine and herbs. Stir to combine
Lower the heat, cover the frypan and let the mixture simmer for 30-40 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes.
About 10-15 minutes before you want to serve up, cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to directions. Drain and keep warm.
Serve on to each of 4 bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.