Vegan Lentil Bolognese with Mushrooms, Sweet Peas, and Carrots

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Description

All told this recipe took about an hour to complete. But to be fair about half of that was waiting for the red lentils to become tender. The outcome was about four equal hearty servings. And it nicely proportions to a one pound box of pasta. In the past I’ve tried some recipes that makes an enormous amount of bolognese. That isn’t the case with this dish.

For this recipe I used half of a medium red onion but you could easily substitute a whole yellow onion in its place. Baby carrots were my goto for this recipe so they were already peeled. I sliced them into quarter inch pieces. Alternatively, you could chop them, grate them, or pulse them in a food processor. The mushrooms I sliced thinly but added them to a separate bowl.

Once the prep work is done heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil. First add the onion, garlic, and carrots and sauté until the onion starts to turn translucent. Then add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown.

In place of the water and bouillon you could use pre-made vegetable stock if you have some on hand. I always have a jar of Better than Bouillon in the fridge so that’s what I reached for this recipe. I like to add the dried spices and tomato paste to the stock as well.

Once the broth, crushed tomatoes, and lentils are added cook for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. At about this point it is good to put a pot of water on the stove for the pasta and start to heat it up. When cooking the pasta follow the instructions on the packaging. Most pastas are done in about 10 minutes or so.

Add salt to taste and top with vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast. Both were added to my dish and is shown in the featured image below. Enjoy!

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Ingredients

1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped

1/2 cup carrot, peeled and sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 ounces of Baby Bella Mushrooms, roughly chopped

1/2 cup frozen sweet peas

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 (14 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

3/4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon bouillon (optional) or 1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup uncooked red lentils

1 (1 pound) box of Rigatoni Pasta

Directions

1. Peel and roughly chop the onion, carrot, garlic and place in a bowl. 
2. Keep the chopped mushrooms in a separate bowl to be added later.
3. Measure the water into a measuring cup and then heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Then add the tomato paste, dried basil, dried oregano, and bouillon and stir until combined. 
4. Heat a sauce pan over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil. Sauté the onion, carrot, and garlic until translucent. 
5. Next add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes until starting to brown. 
6. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, water mixture, sweet peas, and lentils. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stirring every 5 to 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. 
7. When the sauce is nearly done bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. 
8. Once the pasta is al dente drain the water. Then plate the pasta and top with the sauce. Vegan parmesan and/or nutritional yeast flakes are highly recommended garnishes.