Lentil Bolognese
Lentil Bolognese
This is a hearty sauce is delicious on your favourite pasta or spaghetti squash. Lentils are high in protein and fibre and if you are looking for a texture similar to ground meat, it is pretty good alternative. Bottom line, this sauce tastes good.
Yields: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup onion – diced
1 tablespoon garlic – minced
4 cups diced tomatoes
¼ cup tomato paste
2 cups green or brown lentils - cooked[i]
1 cup mushrooms – diced small
1 cup carrots – diced small
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or cashew parmesan
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons pink salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Optional
Fresh basil & oregano - chopped
Steps
Sauté onions and garlic in a little oil or water. Cook until translucent. Add carrots, mushrooms, salt and pepper – cook until soft. Add lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, nutritional yeast and Italian seasoning. Simmer to bring the flavours together.
Use an immersion blender to lightly breakdown some of the lentils. Pulse just a few times because you don’t want a smooth sauce, Bolognese should be chunky.
Add the sauce to the pasta. Add some of the pasta water to loosen the sauce a bit if needed. Garnish with fresh herbs and cashew parmesan.
[1] Soak lentils for 4-6 hours. Rinse them well and put them in a pot of water. I use non-chlorinated water. Cook until tender. Click link to learn how to cook dry beans, peas and lentils to maximize their health benefits.
