Courgette bolognese with wholemeal spaghetti

Courgette bolognese with wholemeal spaghetti: a hearty pasta recipe with beef mince, courgette, carrot, passata and Italian herbs.

At a glance

• Serves 3
• Prep time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 25 min
• Total time: 40 min
• Calories: 420 kcal per serving
• Protein: 18 g
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbs: 62 g

Ingredients

• 250 g pasta
• 200 g beef mince
• 1 courgette
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 400 g passata
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Italian herb mix
• 1 pinch of pepper

Method

You’ll need: frying pan · saucepan · chopping board · knife · sieve · grater · wooden spoon

1. Finely dice the onion, garlic and carrot. Coarsely grate the courgette.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan. Fry the beef mince with the onion, garlic and carrot over a high heat until crumbly and lightly browned.
3. Add the courgette and tomato purée and fry briefly. That gives the sauce more depth and a rounder tomato flavour.
4. Stir in the passata, Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer everything over a low heat, uncovered or with the lid slightly ajar, until the sauce thickens a little.
5. Meanwhile, cook the wholemeal spaghetti in salted water until al dente. Drain and let it drip briefly.
6. Mix the spaghetti with the courgette bolognese and serve straight away, with parmesan if you like.

Good to know

This bolognese is down-to-earth but still light. The courgette makes the sauce juicy without stealing the show.

Swaps

Beef mince → lentils (also provide fibre); parmesan → pecorino or nutritional yeast (nutritional yeast provides B vitamins, depending on the product); wholemeal spaghetti → chickpea pasta (also provides protein and fibre); olive oil → ghee (heat-stable and aromatic; contains milk).

Allergens

Contains gluten (spaghetti) and milk if you serve it with parmesan. Good for children if the sauce is mildly seasoned; in pregnancy, cook the beef mince right through.

Dairy-free recipes