SPAGHETTI WITH LENTIL BOLOGNESE

Today it was pasta time!!!

Since weeks the red lentils in my pantry are smiling at me, but i hadn´t had any ideas to prepare them. To add them into a kind of bolognese sauce was a really good decision i think. I used red lentils, but you can use every sort of lentils you like. The convenience of red lentils is, that they don´t require a long cooking time. This is a cheap and easy recipe that everybody can cook!!! And the best thing of all is that it tastes absolutely delicious!!!

Ingredients: (Serves 3 - 4)

• 350g Spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1-2 garlic cloves, chopped 
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tsp powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 150g mushrooms, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 180g dried red lentils
• Tomato paste
• 1 can tomato puree
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1 thyme branch + 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or basil
• ca. 500ml vegetable stock
• some water
• Salt, Pepper and dried Chilis to taste

1. Cook your pasta according to package directions, drain, sprinkle with some olive oil and set aside. Don´t pour the pasta water away. You will need it for the sauce, cause the water contains starch which makes sure that the sauce clings to the pasta.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and carrot and the powdered sugar and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 2 minutes or until the vinegar is reduced.
3. Add mushrooms and pepper and saute until the vegetables are soft.
4. Add the lentils and stir well. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Mix in some tomato paste and saute everything for about 2 minutes.
6. Now add the tomato puree, the vegetable stock, the thyme branch and the bay leaves and cook everything for 20-35 minutes or until the lentils are soft. If the sauce becomes too thick, add some pasta water to it.
7. Remove the thyme and the bay leaves and add some chopped fresh herbs. ( i used thyme and basil)
8. Season with salt, pepper and chili.
9. If you haven´t used the pasta water till now, than add some of it to the sauce, toss through the spaghetti and mix well
10. Serve it with parmesan cheese (vegan or vegetarian) and ready is your lentil bolognese!!

             !!BON APPETIT!!