Lentil Bolognese
Here's a delicious easy Spaghetti Bolognese that takes roughly 12 mins to make. It costs less than 4 euro and feeds 4 people.
Takes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 300 g wholewheat spaghetti
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 red onion
- 1 red chilli
- 200 g button mushrooms
- 1 carrot
- 1 tsp maple syrup/other liquid sweetener
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 x 400g tins of cooked lentils 500g net weight
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- small bunch basil
Instructions
- Fill a pot with 3L of water and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce to medium heat and add 1 tbsp salt.
- Add the dried pasta and bring to boil and leave to cook as per the pack instructions.
- Drain and rinse the cooked lentils.
- Finely chop onion and garlic and chilli. Grate the carrot. Slice the mushrooms and chop up the stalks.
- Heat a non stick wide bottomed pan on high heat.
- Add chopped onion, garlic and chilli, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 4-5 mins until they start to brown. Stirring occasionally. If anything starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add 4 tablespoons of water and 'deglaze' the pan with your wooden spoon.
- Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 3-4 mins stirring occasionally until they start to char.
- Add the grated carrot and cook for 2 min, add 2 tbsp of water if the veg sticks to the pan, stirring occasionally
- Add the drained lentils and chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes
- Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- If using the basil remove the leaves from the stalk and finely chop the stalk and add to the sauce.
- Drain and rinse the cooked pasta ensuring to keep a cup full to dilute the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta, add about 6-7tbsp of cooked pasta water and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
