Lentil Bolognese

Ingredients

• 1 tin green lentils, drained

• 1½ tins plum tomatoes

• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 carrots, finely chopped

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 300g spaghetti

• Balsamic or wine vinegar

• A handful of fresh basil, chopped

• Salt and pepper to taste

Lovely lentil bolognese with spaghetti

My husband is Italian, so we love a big plate of pasta in our house and lentil bolognese with spaghetti and vegan mince with tagliatelle are two of our favourites. This lentil spaghetti bolognese is quick, cheap and easy to make and it’s super healthy too. If you don’t have any fresh basil, dried basil, oregano or mixed herbs will do the trick. This recipe serves four and you can easily double or halve the ingredients to make more or less.

Step 1 Pour the olive oil into a frying pan on a low heat, add the carrot and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2 Add the plum tomatoes, basil and a splash of vinegar to the pan and mix well. Squash the tomatoes with a spoon or masher to break them up, then add the lentils. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Step 3 Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the spaghetti. Simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Step 4 Drain the spaghetti and add to the sauce. Serve and enjoy!

Tip To make vegan mince with tagliatelle, follow the same recipe but replace the spaghetti with tagliatelle and the lentils with soya mince or Quorn. Cook the sauce for 15 minutes. To be more traditional, you could serve the lentil bolognese with tagliatelle or pappardelle too. I teamed it with spaghetti to make it a more accessible and affordable recipe everyone can enjoy.

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