Bolognese is usually made with meat. This is a vegan recipe which uses lentil in place of meat for the proteins. The brown lentils used here have a mild flavor and hold their shape well when cooked. You don’t need to soak it before cooking, but if soaked for 30 minutes or so will shorten the cooking time.The lentils can be cooked in about 15 minutes in a pressure cooker or 20-25 minutes on a stove top.
The brown lentils are also rich in carbohydrates, protein and fiber making it a great meatless alternative.
This dish can be served with any kind of pasta you have but if you are making this dish for the kids I’d suggest you to go for spaghetti or linguine. Kids have so much fun slurping and eating the long noodles. If your kids are like my daughter who doesn’t prefer Indian food then this is a great dish to serve them. The lentils used here are seasoned with Italian herbs instead of the regular dal/chawal affair and served in a fancier or foreign way. I’m all for our traditional Indian food but it is important to package things differently for kids or anyone who is being a little fussy.
This is a no fuss dish which can be substituted with the basic pantry ingredients. It can be put together in about 30 minutes making it perfect for busy weeknights.
Servings
4-6
Prep Time
20 minutes to cook pasta, lentils and chop
Cook Time
10-15 minutes to put together
Total Time
30-35 minutes
- 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
- 4-5 stalks of celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup brown lentils, soaked and cooked
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 -3 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 10 ounces of spaghetti or penne
Step 1
Add oil to a pan and saute onion, celery and carrots. After 3-4 minutes season with salt, pepper and add tomato sauce.
Step 2
Mix well and add Italian dried herbs. Now add the cooked lentils. Mix again.
Step 3
Cook pasta according to the package directions. When ready to serve, place pasta in a serving bowl or plate add the lentil bolognese on top and garnish with basil and serve hot.
Notes:
If you don’t have tomato sauce on hand you can use marinara sauce or even pasta sauce too. You can also serve lentil bolognese with any kind of pasta you have.
The famous proverb "you are what you eat” as quoted by the French author Anthelme Brillat-Savarin is very true. Food nourishes you from the inside out. Good health is of utmost importance to me. Vegetarianism and Veganism are gaining immense popularity these days. Natural, organic, healthy and homemade is my mantra.
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