Bangin' Bolognese

A healthier bolognese-style lentil ragu with walnuts, herbs, and a splash of red wine, served with wholewheat spaghetti and optional vegan hard cheese and salad.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

First, prep the ingredients: Peel and grate the garlic. Peel and finely chop the onions. Drain and rinse the lentils. Pick and roughly chop the thyme leaves (if using fresh rather than dried), setting aside 1 teaspoon for garnishing. Blitz the walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground.

Step 2

Now, make the lentil ragu: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the ground walnuts, lentils, tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, red wine, chilli flakes, oregano, thyme, balsamic vinegar, yeast extract and water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the sauce catching. It will look grey at first, but will darken as it cooks. Once the sauce has darkened in colour and thickened considerably, taste and season to perfection with salt and pepper.

Step 3

While the ragu is simmering, cook your pasta: Put the saucepan on the hob. Pour the boiling water from the kettle into the saucepan. Turn the heat right up. Sprinkle in a generous pinch of salt. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, following the instructions on the packet. Remove a quarter cup of the starchy pasta cooking water and reserve. Drain the pasta in a colander. Add the cooked spaghetti and a splash of the pasta water to the ragu in the pan and stir through. Grate the hard cheese (if using) and chop the parsley leaves. Plate up the spaghetti and ragu, garnish with parsley (and thyme, if using fresh leaves) and serve immediately with green salad.