Description
A delicious family favourite with a lentil twist. It’s hearty, wholesome and filling. This lentil spaghetti bolognese is a great addition to your weekly meal rotation.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 cans / 400g / 14.10 ounces each diced tomatoes*
- 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup / 60mll vegan red wine (a wine that you would drink)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs (my mix had basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano)
- Chilli powder, to taste (optional)
- Pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated is best)
- ½ teaspoon coconut sugar*
- 500g / 1.1 pounds spaghetti
- 1 can / 425g / 14.99 ounces brown lentils,* drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup / 18g nutritional yeast
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot on medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic cooking until they release an aroma and slightly start to brown.
- Add in the celery and carrots and stir to incorporate. Let this cook for around five minutes, with the lid on.
- Once the vegetables have softened, add in the cans of tomatoes and pouring half a cup of water in each can to get the rest of the tomato juices and pour that into the pot as well. (This will be 1 cup / 250ml of water altogether).
- At this stage also add in the tomato paste, red wine, bay leaf, herbs, chilli, nutmeg, and sugar. Stir well.
- Bring to a gentle simmer. Keep the lid slightly askew to maintain a slow simmer to retain the liquid without reducing it for 30 minutes. Make sure to stir every now and then.
- After the 30 minutes, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti as per the packet instruction till al dente. I cooked mine for around 11 minutes.
- Once you put the pasta in to cook, add the lentils to the sauce. Stir to combine.
- Once the pasta is done, add nutritional yeast and salt to the sauce and adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Drain the pasta once it’s cooked and add to the sauce pot. Using tongs, combine well and serve.
Notes
Diced tomatoes: You can alternatively use passata.
Sugar: I used ½ a teaspoon of sugar, however, if you try the sauce at the end and it still tastes too acidic, add in another ½ a teaspoon of sugar.
Brown lentils: The brown lentils I used from the can were small and cooked well. I added them closer to the end cooking time as I didn’t want them to turn mushy. If your lentils are bigger and are not too soft, add them in 10-15 minutes earlier.
- Diet: Vegan
