I try to have a meat free day once a week and this is the perfect substitute, – it’s packed full of flavour and vegetables – helping you get your 5 a day! I serve it with courgetti spaghetti to make it even better if I’m trying to avoid carbs.

Serves 4 -5

Ingredients

• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 3 sticks of celery finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbs oregano
• 1 tbs marjoram
• 3 springs of fresh rosemary
• 125g tomato puree
• 350ml red wine
• 150ml vegetable stock
• 200g cooker puy lentils
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• Either grated parmesan or mozzarella to serve

If you’re serving this with courgetti, you’ll need about 1.5 courgettes per person, use a spiralizer or grater to slice the courgettes. Heat up a wok on medium heat with a dash of olive oil and heat the courgettes up for 3-4 minutes, you don’t want to cook them for too long as they become soft and very watery. The heat from the ragu will also help to heat up the courgetti.

Method

1. Heat some Frylight in a pot on a medium heat and place in the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and chopped rosemary for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add the tomato puree, oregano and marjoram and cook for an additional 7-8 minutes.
3. Add the red wine and stock, once this is boiling reduce the heat and simmer for about  45 minutes to an hour to let the flavours develop. After an hour add in the lentils.
4. Meanwhile, thinly slice your mushrooms and fry these in a frying pan, once cooked add to the ragu.
5. Serve with the courgetti and some parmesan cheese. If you’re serving this with pasta you could also mix the ragu with pasta, place in an oven dish and top with cheese to create a pasta bake which is also delicious.

A tip for fresh herbs, I often buy them for one meal and don’t need them again so they are wasted! If you cut the herbs and place into ice cube trays with water you can freeze them and keep them for a few months, they’ll still be fresh and can easily be added to sauces.