Eating food that is nutritious, tasty, not too complicated to prepare and that has a low carbon footprint may seem unachievable. This has been my passion, my profession and now I want to share my recipes with the readers of MARGINALIA.

I will be sharing recipes that will be the future, the future of how we will eat, and how our responsible choices will be the future of our planet. These will be recipes that are perfect for families, individuals & gatherings. I will also share slightly more indulgent meals that we can enjoy as a special treat.

My first recipe epitomises the ethos behind my way of thinking, I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 brown onion, finely diced

2 celery sticks, finely diced

1/2 medium carrot, finely diced

1 large aubergine, chopped into 2cm dice

200g mixed mushrooms, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely diced

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tbsp rosemary needles, chopped

125ml red wine

400ml passata or canned chopped tomato’s

200ml water

Small handful of torn basil leaves

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Sauté the onion, celery and carrot over a low heat until very soft and sweet. Around 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chilli flakes and rosemary and cook for a minute. 

Add the red wine and cook out the alcohol. Around a minute or 2. Now add the aubergine and mushrooms and cook over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes until soft. 

Using mushrooms and aubergine to create this delicious ragu is not only healthy it has a far lower carbon footprint as if you were to use beef or pork. 

Add the passata or chopped tomatoes, water and basil leaves. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40-45 minutes on a low heat until thick and rich. Season with salt and pepper. 

While the ragu is cooking cook your gnocchi or pasta as to packet instructions in salted boiling water. 

Serve hot pasta with ragu on top with parmesan and parsley.

Benefits:

Mushrooms provide many important nutrients, including B vitamins, selenium, potassium, copper. This recipe is also low in fat and calories.