Veggie packed bolognese sauce recipe!

This is my amazing Bolognese sauce recipe - it serves 6 big adult serves! I created this recipe as a way to 'healthify' a recipe my family already loves by adding in a tonne of vegetables. I made this recipe for our family get-together over Christmas and I can report that all 8 kids loved it! This bolognese sauce contains 800g of vegetables to 500g of meat. Most spaghetti Bolognese recipes will contain minimal if any extra veggies and a lot of meat. This recipe was originally created for a Thermomix, but I have also made this without it, using either a grater for the veggies or a food processor. If your kids are fussy, a food processor is best to blitz the veggies right down. Ingredients are pretty much the same for both Thermomix and non-Thermomix cooking methods - there is a slight difference in the amount of oil and vegetable stock type used, these are listed in bold and italics in the ingredients listing below. Serve with some wholemeal pasta like this one or a fortified white pasta like this one if your family isn't too keen on the brown stuff right away.

If you happen to have leftovers, you can convert them the next night by reducing down in a frying pan and adding in some Mexican seasoning then having it in taco boats or with rice, beans and salad. You could also reheat the leftovers then add in some peas and corn and serve with mash - like a deconstructed shepherd's pie. There are a lot of options!

Ingredients
5 grams olive oil (TMX option) or 1 light spray olive oil
Onion, brown, peeled, raw, 150 grams
2 cloves garlic, OR 2 tsp minced garlic, 12 grams
Capsicum, raw, 150 grams
Zucchini, includes skin, raw, 200 grams
Mushrooms, white, raw, 150 grams
Celery, fresh, raw, 100 grams
Carrot, mature, raw, 150 grams
Beef/chicken/turkey/pork, mince, <5% fat, raw, 500 grams (use any you like)
Tomato, paste, no added salt, 150 grams
1 tablespoons vegetable stock paste (TMX option) OR 1-2 teaspoons vegetable stock powder to taste
700 grams tomato passata, 700 grams

Macros per serve (6 serves) - using beef mince <5% fat - not including any pasta
190 calories
23.27g protein
4.85g fat
13.22g carbs
5.36g fibre

Traditional (non-Thermomix Method)
1. Finely process onion and garlic. Remove from processor, then process all vegetables until desired size (quite small if you want them hidden). *If not using a processor, finely dice onion and garlic, then grate/dice remaining vegetables.
2. Medium high heat frying pan, add a spray of olive oil, onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes until aromatic.
3. Add in all processed vegetables and sauté further 5 mins, until reduced.
4. Add in mince and break up with spatula, combine thoroughly with the spatula to ensure it is evenly mixed. Add in passata, paste & stock. Stir again with spatula to ensure everything is mixed well.
5. Cook for 20 mins on a medium-low heat until cooked through.
6. Serve with your choice of pasta/noodles.

Thermomix method
1. Put onion and garlic in bowl, 3 sec, speed 6, scrape down sides of bowl.
2. Add olive oil and saute, 3 mins, varoma, speed 1.
3. Add in all roughly chopped vegetables and chop, 5 sec, speed 5, scrape down bowl and chop again if required (if you want to hide the veggies, another 5 sec). Sauté further - 5 mins, varoma, speed 1.
4. Add in mince and break up with spatula, combine thoroughly with the spatula to ensure it is evenly mixed. Add in passata, paste, stock. Stir again with spatula to ensure everything is mixed well.
5. Cook for 20 mins, 100 deg, reverse speed 2.
6. Serve with your choice of pasta/noodles.