Lentil Bolognese

Bolognese is one of those dishes that we all do very differently, and only the family version we are used to will ever really be good enough! It's a serious comfort food and a great Friday night supper - but this week I changed to a plant-based version. It's inspired by the Deliciously Ella recipe but I've changed quantities and ingredients to make it taste the way a 'Wright' Spaghetti Bolognese should.

serves 4

2 small onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, grated
250g dried green or brown lentils
200g sundred tomatoes, chopped finely or blitzed in food processor
1 tin chopped tomatoes
200ml passata
250ml red wine
2 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper 
500g brown rice spaghetti to serve

1. Heat some oil from the sundredi tomatoes in a large casserole-type pan and cook the onion for five minutes or until soft.
2. Add the garlic, carrots and lentils and cook for a couple of minutes. 
3. Add all the tomatoes, passata, wine, oregano and about 500ml boiling water: stir everything together and season well then put the lid on and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Taste the mixture and add more wine, oregano or seasoning as necessary, then simmer for another 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked (this may take longer).
5. Taste the mixture again and see what else you think it needs to make it taste authentic to you: I added more wine and seasoning than I would have done with a meat version and gradually as I went on rather than in one go.
6. When ready cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions then mix it all together to serve.


You need to keep an eye on the mixture as it's cooking as you may need to add more water - I never seem to use the exact same amount so I'd hesitate to be too prescriptive. But in principle keep stirring, keep tasting, keep adding things. Definitely keep notes of your own changes so you can re-create it another time. Freezes really well you just might need to add a bit more liquid on reheating.

Brown rice spaghetti is great - I strongly advise that you stay away from any supermarket 'gluten-free' pasta as this is usually a mixture of maize and white rice which gets squishy and horrible and tastes really bland.

I was really surprised how much this did taste like a regular bolognese! It was totally more-ish and I'd be very happy to eat this rather than a traditional version. I'd suggest a crispy green salad on the side as well with a nice sharp dressing.