Lentil Bolognese

I’ve been having certain negative and guilty feelings lately about food. This is NOT normal for me, I do not get guilty over food. Sometimes I might regret certain food decisions while I am laying on the floor struggling to breath from over consumption of something particularly delicious but I have always felt there is no room in my life for food guilt. I eat what I like and I enjoy it thoroughly, especially now that we eat real food! But in the last 6 months or so I have started getting a real complex about eating meat. I aways try to buy meat that is Organic, Free Range and Family Farmed if possible as I like to know that the hunk of meat I am about to tuck into had a good life, and was slaughtered in a way that was least stressful. But I can’t do it anymore. Even writing about it now makes me feel terrible. Don’t get me wrong… I LOVE meat. It is DELICIOUS but I just can’t stop thinking about the animals while I am eating it.

So we are taking a break. You will have heard me before saying that I don’t like labelling people in certain food types so I won’t label us as “Vegetarian” although for the time being that is how we are eating. Dairy and Eggs are ok (although I have certain views on that as well but one step at a time) but no meat or meat by products (which means no pan gravy!!!) I also don’t want to be a problem and make a big deal of it, I am not trying to “convert” or change anyone else’s food habits (although I do want you all to start cooking your food from scratch!!!) and we certainly don’t want people to find us difficult to feed etc.  (although if you are planning on inviting us over, I would prefer not to have a steak… oh god I love steak.)

So the recipes I will be sharing in the immediate future will be meat free. Most will be adapted from our favourite meat dishes so it’s just substituting one meat thing for something else so feel free to add your own meat in!!

Do NOT be afraid of lentils. I have never cooked with them before but they turned out great! We really did not miss the meat at all in this dish it was so hearty and rich and delicious! Do not knock it until you try it!!

Lentil Bolognese

Ingredients

Olive OIl
1 ½ Cup Lentils (Dried or Tinned)
½ Cup Dry White Wine
2 Cans Crushed Tomatoes
½ Cup Water
1 Brown Onion chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic crushed
Italian Herbs, Fresh or Dried, Basil, Thyme, Oregeno ½ cup of each fresh, 1 tablespoon each dried
Pinch or Two of Salt
Pasta to serve (we used to gnocchi, but any pasta would work!) make your own here.

Method

Brown your Onion and Garlic for a few minutes in a large saucepan with a dash of olive oil.

Add the Cans of Tomatoes, Wine, Lentils, Herbs and one pinch of salt

Give all the ingredients a good stir in the pot making sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

Put the lid on the saucepan and let simmer at a medium low heat for 30-40 minutes stirring frequently (if using tinned lentils you can probably halve this time and you will not need to add the extra water)

If using dried lentils, you will need to add the ½ cup of water at some stage during the cooking process as they will suck up all the liquid from the tomatoes pretty quick smart. I would suggest you keep an eye on the sauce and just put a bit of the water in when required.

When the lentils soften, taste and add salt as required.

Cook your pasta and when that is done simply drain and serve with Lentil Bolognese over the top!

 

Sprinkle some parmesan cheese for extra bite!

Happy Cooking, (from scratch!)
Erica