Lentil Bolognese with Pasta
A meat-free bolognese where red lentils do what the mince used to.
50 min
4 servings
Difficulty 2/5
Lunch · Dinner
Prep 15 min · Cook 35 min
Red lentils break down into the sauce instead of staying as separate pieces, which is what gives it the texture of a meat ragù. The soffritto and twenty-five minutes of simmering do the rest — this is the one step you cannot rush.
Per serving
626
kcal / serving
Ingredients
Written for 4 servings. Change the servings to rescale every amount.
Basil · Garnish
3 sprigs (6 grams)
Sauce
Red Lentils, raw
200 grams
Tomato Passata
500 grams
Vegetable Stock
400 milliliters
Tomato Paste
2 tablespoons (32 grams)
Carrot
150 grams
Celery
2 stalks (80 grams)
Onion
1 piece (110 grams)
Garlic
3 cloves (9 grams)
Olive Oil
2 tablespoons (28 grams)
Oregano, dried
1 teaspoon (1 gram)
Thyme, dried
1 teaspoon (1 gram)
Bay Leaf, dried
1 piece (0.2 grams)
Salt
to taste
Black Pepper
to taste
Pasta
Pasta, dry
320 grams
Steps
Chop the onion, carrot and celery as finely as you can. A meatless sauce gets its body from this, so large pieces leave it watery.
5 min
Soften them in the olive oil over medium heat for 7–8 minutes, without browning.
8 min
Add the garlic, oregano, thyme and tomato paste and fry one minute.
2 min
Rinse the lentils, then add them with the passata, the stock and the bay leaf. Simmer 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the lentils have gone soft and the sauce is thick. Add water if it catches.
25 min
Boil the pasta in well-salted water while the sauce finishes.
12 min
Take out the bay leaf, season, and serve the sauce over the pasta with torn basil.
1 min
Serving suggestion
Nutritional yeast or grated parmesan on top, depending on whether it has to stay vegan.
Storage
The sauce keeps four days and freezes for three months. Cook the pasta fresh.
Notes
The lentils are the dry weight. The sauce is vegan as written — nothing in it comes from an animal.
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