Hearty Lentil Bolognese

Ingredients

• 1 cupbrown lentils, dry, rinsed
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1yellow onion, finely diced
• 2carrots, finely diced
• 2celery stalks, finely diced
• 8 ozcremini mushrooms, very finely chopped
• 5garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 28 ozcrushed tomatoes, 1 can
• 2 cupvegetable broth
• 1 tbspbalsamic vinegar
• 2 tspdried oregano
• 1bay leaf
• 1 lbrigatoni
• basil, torn, to serve
• salt
• black pepper

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium. Cook the onion, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt until soft and starting to brown.

2. Add the mushrooms and cook until their water has evaporated and they darken. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes until the paste turns brick red.

3. Add the lentils, crushed tomatoes, broth, balsamic, oregano, bay leaf and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce to a simmer, partly covered, stirring now and then, until the lentils are tender and the sauce is thick. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick.

   ⏱ 35 min

5. Meanwhile, cook the rigatoni in well-salted water until al dente. Save a cup of the pasta water.

6. Remove the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, and toss the pasta with the sauce and a splash of pasta water. Top with torn basil.