Roasted Vegetable Bolognese

Preheat your oven to 200C / 390F. On a large baking sheet, lay out your mushrooms (4 portobello), pepper (1 red), red onion (1 large) and or 1 large carrot (2 small). Drizzle with olive oil (3 tbsp) and balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp), then season with [salt] and [black pepper]. Roast for 35 minutes. Start 35m timer

Once finished, allow the roasted vegetables to cool for about 5 minutes. They don't need to be cold, but we don't want them to let steam out in the blender which would encourage the mixture to puree.

Now add the vegetables to the food processor and pulse until finely minced. Do not leave the motor running – just use the pulse button for short durations and make sure the mixture is churning properly so that it doesn't start to puree at the bottom.

In a large saucepan (or a shallow casserole dish that can be used on the hob / burner), heat another olive oil (1 tbsp) and sauté your garlic (4 cloves) for a few moments until soft and fragrant. Add the vegetable "mince" and the dried italian herbs (2 tsps). Sauté constantly, being careful not to let any stick to the bottom, until the garlic and herbs are well mixed in.

Add the tomato puree (2 tbsp) and continue to sauté and stir until it's all mixed together before adding the tinned tomatoes (400 g).

Allow to simmer on a very low heat while you prepare your dried spaghetti (300 g) according to package instructions. Start 10m timer

Serve!