Lentil Bolognese

Whether you're vegan or just trying to incorporate more plants into your meals, this lentil bolognese recipe will give you all the comforting feels you'd expect from a hearty pasta sauce!

Anyone else's Mom always have a freezer FULL of 'spaghetti sauce'? This is what my Mom always calls bolognese sauce. She'd always make a giant pot of it, divide it up into smaller containers destined for the freezer, for quick weeknight meals. This recipe makes a large batch for this purpose, but you can totally half it if you'd prefer!

"I love cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food!" -Julia Child

Much like Julia, I love cooking with wine! A good splash of red wine gives bolognese a nice depth of flavour!

Traditionally, milk or cream is added to bolognese sauce at the end of the cooking process. I used Earth's Own diary-free Oat Cream in this recipe but you can use any type of milk or cream you prefer, or leave it out all together.

To round out this meal, I LOVE serving my Lentil Bolognese with my Simple Arugula Salad. If you don't have arugula any greens will work!

Lentil Bolognese

Makes 3 Litres

What you'll need:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 medium onions, finely diced

3 medium carrots, finely diced

8 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup red wine (Cabernet, Merlot, Chianti), Shiraz will all work)

2 cup dried puy lentils (French green lentils, see note* below), rinsed

796ml can diced tomatoes (see note**)

796ml can crushed tomatoes (see note**)

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp white sugar (the secret to cutting the acidity)

1/2 cup unsweetened dairy free cream (I used Earth's Own Culinary Oat Cream. But any unsweetened cream or milk will do)

Salt & pepper, to taste

Steps:

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 3 finely diced onions & 3 finely diced carrots. Saute until the onion is translucent. Add 8 cloves of minced garlic, saute for 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup red wine and reduce by half. Add in 2 cups dried puy lentils, 1 796ml can of diced tomatoes, 1 796ml can of crushed tomatoes, 2 bay leaves, 1 tbsp dried basil, 1 tbsp dried oregano and 1 tsp white sugar. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes. If it's sticking to the bottom of the pot, turn down the heat.

After 1 hour, turn the heat off and stir in 1/2 cup dairy-free cream. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve with your favourite pasta noodles!

Notes: *I prefer to use puy lentils in this recipes as opposed to other types of lentils because puy lentils are firmer and give this bologness a more 'meaty' texture. If you're using a different type of lentil, I suggest testing the lentils for firmness as the sauce cooks. Once the lentils are el dente, your bolognese is done. If you're using split lentils they will cook HELLA quick so you'll want to let the sauce sit for at least an hour to develop the flavour before eating. Just like regular bolognese, this sauce always tastes better the next day.

**If you change up the type of canned tomatoes used in this recipe you may need to add some water so there is enough liquid to absorbed into the lentils, otherwise the lentils won't cook. If you are finding the sauce too thick feel free to add in some liquid.

Enjoy you noods!