15 Minute Lentil Bolognaise
Course: MainsCuisine: Italian, EuropeanDifficulty: EasyServings
4
servingsPrep time
10
minutesCooking time
15
minutesIngredients
250 g spaghetti
1⁄2 can crushed tomatoes
1⁄4 – 1⁄2 cup water
1⁄2 can black lentils, rinsed
3-4 large garlic cloves and 1⁄2 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp dried basil, 1⁄2 tsp dried sage, 1⁄2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper – to taste
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Fresh parsley for decoration
Grated vegan cheese or hemp seeds on top
Directions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a teaspoon of salt. Cook the spaghetti following package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, chop the garlic and rinse the lentils.
- Mix crushed tomatoes with some water (1⁄4 – 1⁄2 cup, add more as needed) and chopped garlic in a pan.
- Heat on medium, bring to a simmer. Add smoked paprika, basil, sage, thyme, a dash of salt and some pepper
- Cook for another 2 – 5 minutes, stirring consistently.
- Add Beluga lentils to the sauce, stir well and cook for 2 – 5 more minutes, until the mixture is thick and the lentils are warm. Try the sauce, add more salt and pepper to taste.
- When the pasta is ready, strain it and mix in 1 tbsp of olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking together. I choose the most aromatic oil I can find here, the higher quality oil you use – the better the flavour!
- Plate the spaghetti, top up with the tomato-lentil sauce, chopped parsley, black pepper and grated vegan cheese (for a healthier option, I like using hemp seeds). Enjoy your easy dinner!
Notes
- This is my go-to pasta for a busy day when I don’t have much time to cook. It takes not more than 15 minutes to make and is seriously delicious. You don’t even need any fancy vegan mince alternatives for this one! Black beluga lentils do all the work here, creating super rich, savoury “mince” that will make you forget you ever needed meat in a Bolognese. These lentils give the best result, but if you can’t find them canned, you can either cook them yourself from dry (Beluga lentils are pretty fast to cook) or use any other canned lentils from your local store, the result will be yummy anyway.
- Compared to traditional Bolognese, this pasta is way quicker to make, tastier in my opinion (seriously!), and also much healthier for you as lentil consumption has been shown to be one of the best predictors of longevity by countless studies! What else is there to ask for?
