Ingredients
- 200g (1 cup) dried green lentils
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stick, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 125ml (1/2 cup) soymilk
- cooked pasta, to serve
Lentil Bolognese
‘This recipe makes one cup of dried lentils go a looong way! Don’t you just love that? The frugal part of me gets such a kick from making drool-worthy meals from cheap ingredients. Especially when it is an ingredient as nutritious as lentils.’
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the lentils and cook for 20-30 minutes until almost tender. Drain and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables have softened slightly. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
Add the cooked lentils, herbs, tomatoes and tomato paste and 125ml (1/2 cup) of cold tap water. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often until the tomatoes soften and break down to form a sauce.
Season with a little salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper and stir in the soy milk. Serve hot over pasta or a baked potato.
Tips and Tricks
Leftover fresh rosemary sprigs can be used as skewers for shrimp, as a basting brush or left to infuse in some quality olive oil for a few days to make a fragrant herb oil that can be used on everything from pasta to eggs to salads.
Too many onions? Onions stored in pantyhose will last as long as 8 months. Put onions in pantyhose, and tie knots between onion, and hang in a cool dry place.
Store tomatoes at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. Shift them to the fridge when they’re at risk of becoming over-ripe to slow the ripening process.