Wonderfully hearty and nutritious, Gennaro's vegan alternative to a traditional Bolognese hits the spot every time.
30 min
Serves
6
Medium
Italian
Vegan
Ingredients
- 280 g/10 oz/scant 1 1/2 cups dried brown or green lentils
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 small carrot, finely chopped
- 100 g/3 1/2 oz/scant 1/2 cup pumpkin flesh, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, whole, peeled and crushed
- 200 g/7 oz/scant 1/4 cup chestnut button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 400ml (1.7 cups)/14 fl oz/1 3/4 cups tomato passata (strained tomatoes)
- 900ml (3.8 cups)/31 fl oz/3 1/2 cups hot vegetable stock (or use a stock cube)
- 500 g/1 lb 2 oz/scant 4 cups (960ml) dried egg-free pappardelle pasta
- rustic bread, to serve (optional)
- chilli flakes, to serve (optional)
Preparation
Not specified
Cooking
- Rinse the lentils under plenty of cold water, checking for any impurities.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan, then sweat the onion, celery, carrot, pumpkin and garlic on a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
- Stir in the lentils, mushrooms and bay leaves and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the passata and stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and gently simmer for about 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked.
- You may need more or less stock depending on the type of lentils, so add this gradually.
- Near the end of the cooking time, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until ‘al dente’.
- Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the lentil ragu, mixing well and adding a little of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce.
- Remove from the heat and serve with rustic bread, a drizzle of olive oil and some chilli flakes, if desired.
Plating & Serving
Not specified
Suggested Sides
Recipe Details
