Spaghetti Bolognese with Lentils
Raise your hands if you would like to have your family eat more lentils? If your answer is yes, give this healthy spaghetti bolognese recipe a try. Its rich and hearty with the deep flavours of a bolognese that's been cooked for hours. Best of all, it incorporates lentils without anyone noticing!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 8 cloves of minced garlic
- 1/2 cup carrots diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms minced
- 3/4 pounds of ground beef
- 1/4 cup red lentils note to use red lentils because they breakdown while cooking
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoons black pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 450ml can of crushed tomatoes
- 1-3 teaspoons sugar if the tomato sauce is quite acidic
- 2 heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast
- 500 grams of spaghetti
- Freshly grated parmesan to taste
- Sprinkle of chilli flakes and or julienned basil if desired
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add carrots, celery and mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add ground beef and cook until brown.
- Add lentils, salt, black pepper, nutmeg and 1 cup of whole milk. Simmer while stirring until milk is absorbed.
- Add chicken stock and crushed tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add 1 cup water whenever you notice the sauce is too dry.
- Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed. Also add sugar a teaspoon at a time if you feel the sauce is too acidic and needs to be a bit sweeter.
- Add nutritional yeast.
- Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted water. Take out when al denté with tongs and add it to the sauce and stir. Reserve a cup of pasta water to add to the sauce if too dry.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, chili flakes and julienned basil if desired.