I’ve been eating A LOT of pasta lately, and I’m constantly looking at ways to change it up and make it more exciting (it’s so easy to get stuck in a pasta rut). Enter the English classic, bolognese (ok, it’s technically Italian but I’ve only ever seen it in the UK). I have to admit, until this summer I had never even tried bolognese. Not once. I don’t think it’s popular in America… maybe it is, but under a different name? It was a completely new concept to me when I first moved to the UK and if I’m being totally honest, it sounded disgusting. Chunks of carrot cooked in a tomato sauce with minced meat? Pass.
That said, a vegan version that includes some of my favourite things like lentils, courgette, mushrooms and… ok, a little carrot… that sounds divine. I was tempted to call this “lentil pasta” rather than bolognese, but I chose the latter because it is more common and people know what they’re getting. What I love about this recipe is that because everything is either shredded or minced, the veggies all cook down really nicely so you almost don’t even realise just how full of nutritious veggies it really is.
Before we jump into the recipe itself, I want to add a note about the images. One of my pet hates is when people don’t combine the pasta and sauce together at the end of the cooking process, and just dump the sauce on top. This is exactly what I’ve done in these photos, and the reason why I’ve done this is because it just looks better in photographs. But I still cringe a bit looking at them haha. If you are cooking this at home, I always recommend combining the pasta and sauce into a pan and heating through for a minute or two. This helps the pasta get really fully immersed in the sauce and pick up more of the flavours. Also – I used white pasta in these photos which again, is just for aesthetic purposes mainly, but when I cook this on a normal night I always use whole wheat pasta – usually fusilli.
With that said, on to the recipe!
Recipe:
[4 servings]
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 150ml vegetable stock
- 690g passata (approx. one large jar or two small cans)
- 215g mushrooms, finely chopped (about one packet)
- 100g carrots, shredded (approx. 2 medium carrots)
- 225g courgette, shredded (approx. one large courgette)
- 1 can of cooked green lentils (230g), drained
- ¼ cup of nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons fine salt
- Fresh basil
- Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- Pasta, enough for 4 people and cooked according to instructions
Directions:
- Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add a splash of the vegetable stock and the chopped onion, cooking until translucent (around 5 minutes).
- Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Make sure to add a little more stock if the pan starts to dry out.
- Add the vegetables, salt, oregano and chilli flakes (if using) and cook down until most of the water from the veggies has evaporated – around 7-10 minutes.
- Add in the passata, vegetable stock, lentils and nutritional yeast, stir well and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for another 10-15 minutes while you prepare the pasta. If the sauce becomes too thick, just add a little extra water or veggie stock.
- Once the sauce is cooked, adjust the seasonings to taste.
- Drain and place the cooked pasta back in the saucepan, adding in the sauce spoonful by spoonful until you get the right amount. Stir well and cook for a minute or two.
- Serve with a little additional nutritional yeast, fresh basil and black pepper. Enjoy!
