Hearty Lentil Broccoli Bolognese

Hearty lentil, walnut, and mushroom filled tomato sauce blankets a bed of pasta. This sauce is so tasty, satisfying, and filling, we often make a large batch and freeze it for future meals. We add broccoli, cauliflower or kale to our pasta to get even more veggies in, and it pairs wonderfully with the tomato sauce, but you can leave it out if you wish. Serve over any pasta of choice with a side salad and some toasty bread, perfection!

HEARTY LENTIL BROCCOLI BOLOGNESE [VEGAN]

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup crimini or white mushrooms, chopped or sliced
• 1/2 cup red or white wine, optional
• 3 cups tomatoes, diced, fresh or canned
• 1 can tomato paste, 6 oz
• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp oregano
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3/4 cup green or brown lentils
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 Tbsp sweetener of choice (agave, sugar, chopped date)
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped, optional
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped, optional
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, optional
• 3 cups broccoli florets, cauliflower, or kale

PREPARATION

1. Sauté onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil over medium heat, in a medium pot or wide, deep skillet, for 3-4 minutes.
2. When softening and lightly browning add wine if using, if not substitute water or vegetable broth, and stir well to combine. Add tomatoes and cook with lid on for 5-6 minutes over medium heat until tomatoes start to break down. Add remaining ingredients, tomato paste through lentils and bring to a gentle boil then cover and lower to a simmer.
3. Let cook for 20 minutes or so until lentil are soft and sauce is thickening. Add remaining ingredients walnuts through nutritional yeast. Only add walnuts at the very end of cooking, if you add them earlier and continue to cook sauce, they will turn it black. After you add walnuts and herbs turn off heat and stir well to combine, serve over pasta of choice with steamed or sautéed veggies added in. We like to throw a few cups of broccoli, cauliflower or kale into the pasta water in the last minute of cooking and then drain all together, perfect every time! Toss pasta with sauce to coat thoroughly and serve hot. Enjoy!

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/hearty-lentil-broccoli-bolognese/