Lentil Ragu

by Josiah Meldrum April 21, 2021 1 Comment

Super simple to make and incredibly versatile, this ragu is the perfect alternative to minced meat and can be used in shepherd's pie, lasagne or as a bolognese style sauce for pasta (it's great with any of Pastificio Carleschi's superb pasta). Or try it in a pie with roasted veg. Our British-grown olive lentils bring a fantastic peppery and earthy sweetness to the sauce.

Feel free to vary our simple recipe, riff along with your own version or just replace the mince with soaked lentils in your prefered meat based recipe.

Ingredients

450g Olive Green Lentils
1 large Red Onion
1 stick Celery
1 Red Pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
3 cloves Garlic
2 cans Tomatoes (or a large jar of Passata)
1 tbsp Tomato Puree (or finely chopped Sundried Tomatoes)
2 Bay Leaves
1 sprig Rosemary
1 bunch Fresh Parsley
2 teaspoons dried Oregano
Vegetable Stock to cover
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

Rinse and cover the lentils with boiling water; leave to stand for 30 minutes or more. ⁣
Finely chop the onion and garlic, sauté in a deep heavy pan for 5 minutes. Add chopped celery and pepper, sauté for another 5 minutes. ⁣
Drain and add the lentils, bay leaves and rosemary. Cover with stock and simmer until the stock has been absorbed and the lentils are softening. ⁣
Add the canned tomatoes and puree, with half a can of water (rinse the cans with it). Reduce to desired consistency, season, stir through chopped parsley.
Serve or use as the basis for shepherd's pie, lasagne or similar.

Josiah Meldrum

Author

1 Response

Deirdre Gaffney

May 31, 2021

Any chance you could make your lovely recipes printer-friendly?

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