Servings: servings
Vegetarian Bolognese with Spaghetti
Pasta with meatless Bolognese. This vegetarian dish is filled with wholesome vegetables and lentils. There are plenty of good flavors, textures, and we promise you will leave your dining table satisfied when you have sunk your teeth into this lovely dish. If you have other vegetables in your fridge, you can easily substitute them for the ones I have chosen for this dish.
Ingredients
"Kødsauce"
- 1 pcs. Onion Large. Use 2 if they are small
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 0.5 pcs. Red bell pepper
- 1 pcs. Parsley Root
- 1/3 pcs. Celery Small
- 2 pcs. Carrots
- 2 pcs. Celery Leaf 2 stalks
- Olive Oil For frying
- 200 gram Lentils Red. Green can also be used
- 200 gram White Wine
- 600 gram Vegetable Stock Can easily be replaced with bouillon cube and water
- 250 gram Passata Can be replaced with 1 can of peeled/chopped tomatoes
- Spices Salt, pepper, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and sugar
- 100 gram Cream
Pasta
- 500 gram Spaghetti Or other types of pasta
- Salt
Serving
- Parmesan To be grated over the dish
- Bread croutons Can be replaced with thinly toasted bread or chips
Instructions
- First, chop all the vegetables as finely as you wish. If you prefer texture in your Bolognese sauce, leave the pieces medium-sized. If you want to avoid the texture, finely chop them all. An alternative is to coarsely chop them and then blend the sauce before serving.
- Use a thick-bottomed, high-sided sauté pan for this recipe.
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté all the vegetables in the pan. It takes 3-5 minutes and they should not take on color.
- Then add the lentils and give it 1-2 minutes before pouring in the white wine.
- Reduce the white wine, it takes 2-3 minutes.
- Add stock and passata (tomatoes) and bring it to a quick boil.
- Turn down the heat and let the dish simmer for 30 minutes.
- Season the sauce and add cream, letting it stand for about 10 more minutes.
Pasta
- Cook your pasta according to the package instructions.
- Here we used dried spaghetti that cooked for 8 minutes in boiling water. A good tip is to get the water boiling first and then add salt. If you add the salt before the water boils, you increase the water's boiling point, thus increasing the time it takes for the water to boil. Forget about using oil in the water; that's just a myth.
Assembling the dish
- When you drain the pasta, do not strain all the water away; it is a good idea to have about 1 dl of the cooking water with the sauce when you mix the pasta in the sauce. An alternative is to have a cup standing in your sink, so when you drain the water from the pasta, it catches some of the cooking water. It is filled with good flavor and starch, which aids in thickening sauces.
- Mix your pasta and a bit of cooking water in the "Bolognese" and let it meld together. It takes 1-2 minutes.
- Place your pasta and Bolognese on a plate and grate Parmesan over it. Always buy a piece of Parmesan that you can grate yourself rather than buying pre-grated Parmesan. The taste difference is worlds apart.
- The dish tastes delightful, but it is a rather soft dish in terms of texture. Therefore, we recommend having something crispy alongside the dish. It can be anything from bread croutons, toasted bread, or even chips.
Notes
Keep an eye on the liquid amount when the sauce simmers. Lentils are good at absorbing liquid. Add a little extra stock along the way if they absorb too much.