Are you looking for a simple supper to keep your family and their gut bugs happy? Introducing our Gut-Healthy Spaghetti Bolognese! It’s certainly not a traditional spaghetti bolognese, but what would be the fun in that!?
As always, our take on this dish is diverse and delicious. It’s packed full of flavours and textures, and offers everything you want in a balanced meal – high protein and low-GI carbohydrates, with a little healthy fat for good measure.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 smoked turkey bacon
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 celery stick
- 1 red pepper
- 1 leek
- 200g fresh tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- ½ tin cooked lentils
- 3-4 tbsp tinned sweetcorn
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 sprigs rosemary leaves, fines chopped
- 250g turkey mince
For the Bolognese Sauce:
- 1 400g tin tomatoes
- Leaves from ½ small pack of basil
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 2/3 tsp dried oregano
- 1.5 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 beef stock cube
- 1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 85ml red wine
- 3 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
To Serve:
- 200g wholewheat pasta/spaghetti
- 60g lentil pasta
- Parmesan (optional)
Method
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add finely chopped turkey bacon and fry for 10 minutes until crisp.
- Grate the carrot, cut cherry tomatoes in half, and finely chop all remaining vegetables. Drain and rinse the lentils.
- Reduce the heat. Add garlic, rosemary and all vegetables, except the sweetcorn and chilli. Cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables soften, stirring regularly.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add 250g turkey mince. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the mince has browned.
- Add 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add lentils, tinned tomatoes, finely chopped basil, dried oregano, bay leaf, tomato purée, 1 beef stock cube, red chilli (optional), red wine, and halved cherry tomatoes.
- Stir thoroughly. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, add sweetcorn, and cover with a lid.
- Cook for 1 hour on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
- When the Bolognese is nearly cooked, add the wholewheat pasta to boiling water. After 4 minutes add the lentil pasta. Cook for 8 minutes (or as per instruction on the pack).
- Drain the pasta/spaghetti. Serve with Bolognese Sauce on top and garnish with parmesan and basil (optional).
Nutritional Information
| Calories | 356 |
| Total Fat | 6.7g |
| Total Carbohydrates Dietary Fibre | 42.8g 8.6g |
| Protein | 26.7g |
This recipe is a great way to sneak healthy foods into your family’s meals! If your children are fussy, you can chop the vegetables finely to hide in with the mince and Bolognese Sauce. Find more tips here!
