Lentil Bolognese
for “But Make It Vegan” - Environment911.org
June 2021

I was craving something hearty, and considered making a vegan chili, but I thought a good vegan Bolognese might do the trick.  

I made enough to freeze some for future cravings, and have eaten it both with whole wheat spaghetti and zoodles. Next up will be with homemade pasta. 

Sauces like Bolognese are a great way to sneak in healthy foods like nutritional yeast, or hemp hearts. You won't notice them in the sauce, but your body will take note! 

Serves 4  
(Can be doubled) 
 
INGREDIENTS: 

- 1 tbsp of olive oil 
- 1 onion, finely minced 
- 2 cloves garlic, minced 
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots 
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery 
- 1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms (your choice, I used shiitake) 
- 1/2 cup dry brown or red lentils 
- salt & pepper 
- 1/2 tsp dried basil 
- 2 tbsp tomato paste 
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, if you like heat you can add more) 
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 
- 2 bay leaves 
- 1/4 cup of white wine 
- 2 cup vegetable stock (or water) 
- 2 tsp chopped parsley to top 
- vegan parmesan 
- pasta to serve 

INSTRUCTIONS: 

Finely chop the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and mushrooms. I did these in a food processor to get it super fine, but you can also do it by hand. 
 
In a frying pan with high sides, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and then add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and mushrooms mix. Cook until soft (approx. 15mins). 

Add in the tomato paste and cook for another minute until it begins to caramelize. 
Pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan, getting any browned bits loose and letting the wine evaporate. 

Then add the lentils, vegetable stock, basil, optional red pepper flakes, nutritional yeast, bay leaves and some salt and pepper. 

Stir to combine, cover and then cook over medium heat until lentils are cooked through - this will take about 30 mins to an hour. You may want to add more water if the lentils need more cooking time. Test them to see how soft they are and go from there – you don’t want it to be watery. 

When done, remove from the heat and check the spices, adding anything more that might be needed. 
 
Cook the pasta you’re using until just al dente, and then reserve some of the pasta water and drain. 
In the warm pasta pot, add the pasta back and scoop some of the Bolognese into it, adding some of the pasta water to finish cooking the pasta and making the Bolognese creamier. You can add vegan parmesan here as well. 
 
Plate the noodles, then top with a small extra scoop of the Bolognese, and sprinkle on some chopped parsley and more vegan parm!