Health recommendations are encouraging us to eat a more plant based diet. Looking for a meat-free alternative recipe for bolognaise? Try this tempeh bolognaise recipe. It’s completely vegan / vegetarian, a good source of protein and vegetables. FYI, tempeh is a vegan protein source made from fermented soy beans.

(Makes about 3-4 regular serves or post-bariatric surgery 6-8 serves)

Ingredients

• 2 small to medium onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, sliced into quarters lengthwise and then thinly sliced into quarter circles
• 1/2 large red capsicum, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium zucchini, finely chopped
• 1/4 large eggplant, finely chopped into cubes (about 2 cups of cubes)
• 1 pack of 300g tempeh, grated (I used Nutrisoy Organic Tasty Tempeh) (If you’re not keen on tempeh, you can use crumbled firm tofu instead)
• 4 medium mushrooms, cut into half and thinly sliced
• 1 x 140g tub tomato paste
• 1 x 400g tinned finely chopped tomatoes, I used Solo Pomodoro Mutti as this only contains tomatoes in the ingredients which means the tomatoes are ripened to have good sweetness and no additives are added.
• 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 – 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon stevia powder or sugar
• 1 cup water or stock

Method

1. Heat a large non-stock frypan on medium high heat and add 1 tsp oil.
2. Once oil is heated, add the eggplant and mix well to disperse the oil and cook stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the onion, garlic, tempeh, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and stir well. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add all remaining ingredients, including the dried oregano and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt, except the basil, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and stevia/sugar. Stir well and cook on medium heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, water/stock, stevia/sugar and combine well, cook until the sauce has reduced to almost desired consistency, add basil and mix through cooking for a further 1-2 minutes.
6. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.
7. Serve over cooked pasta/quinoa /legume beans (4 bean mix, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas etc) or if watching carb & calorie/kilojoule intake serve over steamed vegetables, zucchini /carrot/pumpkin noodles (pictured) or Slendier Konjac spaghetti / fettuccine. For a high protein low carb option, try Qetoe pasta.

*Store tempeh bolognaise in fridge for 3-4 days (or freeze).