Choosing a plant-based meal at least one day a week is good for the planet and for our health. Award-winning chef David Hetherington from Locker Hyndland, known for his eye-catching dishes that use simple yet bold flavours and the best of local, seasonal Scottish ingredients, shares a cheap, easy and totally tasty veggie dinner, Cauliflower Bolognese with Rigatoni, perfect for those meat-free Mondays.

Serves 4

Prep time 15mins

Cook Time 30-40mins

Total £4.06

INGREDIENTS

1 large head of cauliflower £0.79

½ packet of flat leaf parsley – £0.29

300g of small button mushrooms £0.40

2 tbl vegetable oil – Store cupboard

1 large onion, chopped or grated finely – £0.11

5 cloves of garlic, finely minced – store cupboard

500g bag rigatoni pasta – £1.09

2 tbl tomato paste – £0.05

½ lemon – £0.10

50g grated Parmesan – £0.32

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cracked black pepper

METHOD

Put on a large pot of water with a pinch of salt to boil for the pasta.

Finely dice the mushrooms, these will go into a heavy based saucepan with the oil on a low heat, trick here is to brown the mushrooms a little as this will help with the colour of our dish.

Once the mushrooms are browned (about 5 minutes) add the onion and garlic and sweat for a further 5 minutes until the onions are soft.

Then add the tomato paste and around 250ml of water, stir it all together and simmer for 5 minutes then turn the heat down to low, in goes the cauliflower, and we want to cook the mix slowly letting all the flavours meld.

Let the ragu cook slowly until the liquid has evaporated and you can feel it almost sticking to the pan, now add salt and pepper to taste, finely chop the parsley and add half to the mix.

Turn off the heat, and pop a lid on it.

Once the water has come to a boil, add the pasta and cook as per instructions.

Once cooked drain off your pasta, then add it to the bolognese, mix it all up and serve with Parmesan, parsley, and a twist of lemon.

Meat-free Mondays never tasted so good…