What Can I Use Instead Of Aubergine For The Vegan Spag Bol?

Our answer

Nigella's Vegan Spag Bol has a vegan ragù, or sauce, that is made from a combination of red, green and puy lentils, with tinned tomatoes and added vegetables. The recipe includes aubergine, as it has an almost "meaty" quality, but you tend not to particularly notice the aubergine in the finished dish.

If you really need to omit the aubergine then we would suggest using 300g (10 oz) mushrooms instead. Our preference would be for portobello or field mushrooms as these also have a certain "meaty" quality. The mushrooms should be wiped clean and cut into 1cm/1/2-inch dice and should be added to the pan at step 4, instead of the aubergine. We would suggest still using the dried porcini mushrooms, as they add a lot of umami flavour, or using the Marmite/Vegemite alternative suggested in the recipe intorduction.