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lentil bolognese

Lentil quinoa bolognese

A meatless spaghetti sauce that truly resembles bolognese. This pasta sauce has great texture and is so flavorful. The ultimate comfort food!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Calories: 166
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 medium onion (cut in 4)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 big carrots (peeled and cut in large chunks)
  • 2 stalks celery (cut in large chunks)
  • 4 mushrooms (I used champignons, portobello are great as well)
  • 2 red bell peppers (seeds removed, cut in large chunks)
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • ¾ cup red wine
  • 1½ cups cooked lentils (I used french lentils. I recommend not to use red lentils)
  • ½ cup cooked quinoa (can be left out, but highly recommended; gives extra texture)
  • 2 cups tomatoes (chopped)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp oregano
  • ½ tbsp coconut sugar (or you can use brown sugar)
  • ¾-1 cup water
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
Serve on (optional):
  • (whole wheat) spaghetti or zucchini noodles (for serving)
To garnish (optional):
  • 1 handful parsley and/or basil (chopped finely)

Method
 

  1. Add all the veggies (onion, carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, celery) to a food processor and chop into small bits.
  2. Add olive oil to a heated stockpot. Add the chopped veggies and salt.
  3. Important step! Don't skip! Brown the vegetables in the pan for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. This will give depth of flavor.
  4. Add wine to the browned vegetables and cook on medium heat until the wine has evaporated.
  5. Once the wine has cooked down, add the lentils, quinoa, tomatoes, bay leaves, coconut sugar and oregano. Stir until well combined.
  6. Now turn down the heat to low and add the water (start with ¾ cup, add more later on if you think it's dry and it needs more). Cook down for another 20 minutes.
  7. Remove the bay leaves and, using a submergible blender, pulse ever so slightly. You don't want a smooth sauce. You want to keep a lot of texture (you can also skip this step if you like the sauce the way it is).
  8. Taste the sauce and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it.
  9. Serve over (zucchini) noodles, (whole wheat) spaghetti (that's what I did) or even quinoa. Or add vegetable broth and turn it into a soup.
  10. Garnish your plate with parsley and/or basil. Enjoy your meal!

Notes

Nutritional information:
the information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.