If you’re like me recently you will have been feeling a bit guilty about the amount of red meat you consume or any meat for that fact. I’ve been reading a lot into meat production and it effect on the environment as well as watching some fab documentaries on Netflix about living a more meat free life style.

However! I love mince meat and I love eating classic dishes like cottage pie, mince stew to name a couple and of course the classic Italian home staple spaghetti bolognese! Now if you’re like me you will be saying spag bol with out mince beef is like taking the bricks out of the foundations of a house. Well this is were I show you that the beef is not the main source of flavour in this dish, it isn’t what pulls it all together, let’s dive deeper and get right in on this.

Ingredients

Feeds: 4

Time: 30mins

• Fresh spaghetti
• Meatless farm Mince
• 1 Large Red Onion chopped finely
• Tin/carton tomato Passata
• 1 tsp Honey
• 2 Garlic cloves chopped fine
• 1 tbsp Dried Italian herbs
• Dried mushrooms
• 1 large Carrot chopped finely
• 1 tbsp Marmite
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• Veg Oil for frying
• Pecorino Cheese or Parmesan
• Crispy onions
• Boiled water

Method

1. Start by heating up your frying pan to a medium heat add a good glug of the oil, to this add the onion, garlic, Italian herbs and carrot. Keep moving it around the pan so not to catch.
2. After 5 minutes pour in the Passata and honey then start to cook through, when bubbling add the meatless mince meat by breaking it apart above the pan so it’s evenly spread.
3. Boil a kettle and in a jug put 300ml of boiled water, to this add the mushrooms, soy sauce and marmite. Stir together and let it steep for 20 mins whilst the meat cooks down. After 20mins combine the stock with the meat and cook through reducing down until thick.
4. Cook through the spaghetti fro a couple minutes, drain off before pouring the bolognese in to the pan to combine.
5. To serve swirl big forks of pasta and place on a plate covering with grated pecorino and crispy onions.