Piece of life
Changing one’ s lifestyle is not always easy. It takes me a long time to revisit some recipes in a veggie version, and the bolognese took me years. Honestly, it seemed weird to me to eat pasta with lentils [it’s actually absolutely delicious]. Although I still make the traditional meat recipe from time to time, I must admit that this vegetarian lentil version has become a classic at home.
About the veggie bolognese
Pasta is the ultimate comfort food.I could eat pasta every day, and so could the kids. Although lately their favorite version is plain pasta, the vegetarian lentil bolognese sauce works wonderfully. This sauce is comforting and full of flavor.
The recipe is simple, economical and requires only basic ingredients. Wine is part of the traditional recipe, and let’s face it, it adds flavour to this sauce, but you can do without it. Simply replace it with vegetable broth, or water.
Ideally, cook the pasta at the same time as you prepare the sauce, and add some of the pasta cooking water to the sauce. Pour the cooked pasta directly into the sauce and coat it well. For organizational reasons I prepare the sauce ahead of time and use it for several meals, so I don’t make it at the same time as the pasta [and that works fine too].
Easy vegetarian bolognese
Ingredients
- 200 g of dry lentils (black, green)
- 2 carrots
- 700 ml of passata (tomato coulis)
- 500 ml water or vegetable broth
- 125 ml red wine
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- parmesan cheese optional
- pasta your choice (spaghetti, linguine for ex.)
Instructions
- Rinse the lentils in cold water and drain.
- Finely chop the onion and garlic cloves, and dice the carrots.
- In a pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Put the onions and garlic in it and let it cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots and lentils and cook for 2 minutes.
- Deglaze with red wine, then add the passata and water. Stir.
- Add salt and pepper and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until lentils are cooked.
- At the same time, bring water to a boil in a large pan, then cook the pasta (e.g. spaghetti, linguine) according to the instructions. Drain the pasta, but keep a glass of the cooking water to stretch the sauce if necessary.
- Pour the pasta into the sauce and coat it well.
