Lentil Bolognese

Hearty and delicious, Lentil Bolognese is packed with fresh flavour and healthfulness. Nutritious lentils, tomato and peppers make any pasta night a night to remember.

While searching for recipes on the BBC Good Food website, I discovered a recipe for spaghetti bolognese. I follow alot of UK vegan social media and bolognese or “spaghetti bols” seems to be very popular with many Brits. I had never made it before but now that I have, after veganizing and simplifying the recipe, it has become one of my all-time favorites.

This is a really great recipe for a company dinner. Serve it with a salad, some good bread and you have an instant, impressive and hearty meal. You can also make up a full batch for just yourself and freeze the leftovers as it freezes well. When eating for one, I like to garnish with some freshed chopped parsley and some vegan parmesan.

Making Vegan Bolognese

The secret of creating a great pasta sauce is all in the preparation. Make sure all your vegetables are cut into uniform sizes and shapes and assemble all your ingredients before getting started. All the vegetables should be diced into medium-small bite-size pieces, but if you like a chunkier sauce, you can coarsely chop them as well. The onion and garlic should be finely diced. If you have a food processor, use it instead. It saves time, tears, and does a good job.

Instructions

•Start by heating avocado or olive oil in a medium size skillet over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook them until they become translucent, about 1-2 minutes.

•Add the seasoning and spices, tomato paste, applesauce, garlic and balsamic vinegar. Stir until well mixed and heated and aromatic, about 1 minute.

•Add the lentils. Stir it together and make sure everything is well mixed.

•Next, add the vegetable stock and the can of diced tomatoes. Add some grated whole nutmeg or a pinch of ground nutmeg. Stir well, lower heat to a low and let gently simmer uncovered, stirring often for 40-60 minutes.

•The sauce is ready when most but not all the liquids has evaporated. The rest of the liquid will be absorbed by the pasta.

•Serve the lentil sauce immediately over pasta and garnish with more herbs.

Lentil Bolognese is so delicious and full of healthy ingredients. It tastes great fresh but leftover can refrigerated and eaten the next dsy or frozen up to 6 months. This dish really proves that you can veganize any dish and that veganism is an improvement, not a limitation. Enjoy!

More Vegan Pasta Recipes

There are alot of amazing vegan recipes these days. Here a few of my favorites:

Pasta with Creamy Zucchini Sauce

Small Batch Vegan Macaroni and Cheese Casserole

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Spaghetti with Roasted Vegetables and Tofu

A whole foods vegan diet is healthy, kind to animals, and kind to the planet. It is also delicious and affordable. If you like this recipe, please share! ~Una

Spaghetti with Lentil Bolognese

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 4 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
• 1 celery stalk (chopped)
• 1 carrot (chopped)
• 1/2 large green pepper (chopped)
• 3 1/2 cups cooked green lentils
• 1-1/4 teaspoons stevia seasoning (or commercial salt free blend)
• 2 tablespoons applesauce
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley (chopped)
• 1 package spaghetti (cooked and drained)
• Vegan parmesan for topping
• Whole or ground nutmeg

1. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. Drain well and set aside.
2. Finely chop the carrots and celery by hand or in a food processor. Set aside.
3. Roughly chop the onions and green pepper and place in a food processor until well chopped. If chopping by hand, chop finely.
4. Mince or crush the garlic and set aside.
5. Place a large skillet over medium and add the oil. Stir it around to cover the bottom of the pan.
6. Once heated, add the onions. Stir with a wooden spoon until translucent, about 1 minutes.
7. Add the carrots, celery and garlic. Stir until mixed.
8. Add the lentils, tomato paste, the seasonings and stir well. When mixture is well blended, add the vegetable stock and the can of tomatoes. Grate some nutmeg over the top. Stir until well mixed.
9. Cook and bring to a boil over medium low heat. Once boiling reduce to low heat. Let simmer, uncovered 40-60 minutes over very low . Stir often. Once it appears done with most not all of the liquid absprbs, taste test and add seaasoning or more vinegar as desired.
10. Once done, serve immediately over pasta. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve with vegan parmesan.

Entrees

british, Italian

bolognese, pasta, spaghetti, vegan pasta dishes