Ditch mince in your spaghetti bolognese for 'fantastic' healthy ingredient - not tofu

Comfort food season is well and truly here, and as the nights get darker, hearty meals become more and more popular. Pasta is always a good idea when it's miserable outside, and luckily, there are so many sauces out there that you'll never get bored.

A real staple here in the UK is spaghetti bolognese, with its rich tomato sauce being ideal for these gloomy evenings. However, if you want to make yours truly 'fantastic', you might want to ditch the mince altogether. One recipe creator on social media has hailed a cheaper and healthier ingredient for making bolognese, and it's not Quorn or tofu.

The recipe was shared on Instagram by Sebastian Graus, also known as Seb's Crispy Club, who often posts simple dishes that 'you'll actually want to make.'

One of his recent creations, which is a veggie lentil bolognese, promises to pack a protein punch and give you that much-needed comfort for these chilly autumn evenings.

He said: "I feel like a lot of us want to eat more veggie-focused dishes but are mindful of getting enough protein. While I LOVE tofu, it can get a bit repetitive."

Lentils are high in protein, fibre and they're cheap too, with a tin of black lentils costing just £1.60 from Ocado. The recipe calls for dried ones, but you can ued tinned if you can't get your hands on these, and it'll slash the cooking time too.

Here's how you can make this recipe at home.

Lentil bolognese

Ingredients (makes four portions)

• One onion, finely chopped
• Two celery stalks, finely chopped
• One carrot, finely chopped
• Four garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Four tbsp olive oil
• Three tbsp tomato paste
• 300g black lentils (dry)
• 400g canned chopped tomatoes
• 800ml water
• Two tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• Salt & pepper
• 400g pasta
• 60g parmesan (skip if you are strictly vegetarian)
• Eight tbsp nutritional yeast

Method

In a pan over a medium heat, gently sauté the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in olive oil with a pinch of salt for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, then cook for a further three minutes.

Then, add the lentils, tomatoes, soy sauce, chilli flakes and pepper. If you used dry lentils, simmer for around 30 minutes until they have softened. If you've used tinned, this should only take around 15 minutes.

When the lentils are nearly done, boil your pasta according to the packet instructions, and reserve some of the water.

Stir the parmesan and nutritional yeast into the lentils, then toss in the pasta with some of the water. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with some extra cheese on top.