A vegan spag bol

Here is the recipe you’ve all been asking for (well, by all I mean a couple of friends and a few lovely folks over on instagram). This is a real staple in our house for those days when we want all the comfort of a classic spag bol but want a lighter yet equally nutrient-rich (if not richer) version. So here comes in my mushroom and lentil ‘bolognese’ sauce! The recipe here is for a big batch or … a very hungry family of three, as i’ve recently discovered. Serve with grated cheese or replace the cheese with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and a grating of macadamia nut. I thank Bettina Campolucci-Bordi for this wonderful idea which she’d shared in our recent MotherFood LIVE conversation.

Recipe

500g of chestnut mushrooms, grated or finely chopped 
4 large garlic cloves, minced 
1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced 
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
2 tsp of mixed Italian dried herbs 
A splash of red wine
1/2 cup of brown lentils, raw or cooked 
2 tbsp of concentrated tomato pasta
1 veggie stock cube
1 tsp of brown sugar or a tbsp of honey
fresh parsley, chopped, to taste 
Sea salt, to taste
Cracked black pepper 
Chilli flakes, optional 
Nutritional yeast, to taste 

Heat up a generous glug of olive oil in a casserole and when hot but not smoking, add all the vegetables, season with salt and add the dried herbs. Cook on medium heat under a lid for 15 minutes. When the veggies are all soft and the mushrooms have released all their juices add a splash of red wine, raise the heat and cook for a minute uncovered, to let the alcohol evaporate. 

Next add the lentils. If you are using raw lentils, then also add an equal measure of water and cook for extra 10 minutes until they soften. They don’t need to be cooked completely by this point. If using cooked tinned lentils, skip this step, and proceed to adding the tomato sauce next.

Dilute the tomato puree in a cup of boiling water together with a stock cube and your choice of sweetener. 

Pour into the casserole, mix well, add more water if necessary and let cook for another 10 minutes. 

At this point get your pasta going, and cook 1 minutes less than stated on packet instructions. 

When pasta is ready, reserve 1/2 of pasta water. Drain the rest, mix into the casserole together with 1/2 of pasta water. Season with more salt, pepper and fresh parsley. Mix very thoroughly and let rest for 1-2 minutes under a lid, off the heat.

To serve, drizzle with super good quality olive oil, add more seasoning (I love a touch of chilli here) and top with your preferred ‘cheese’. 

So good, I want to get up and go make it now!