Skip to main content

Lentil bolognese

'its not really a bolognese'

I don't really think about bolognese as Italian. is that odd? its named after an Italian city and I certainly hope to bring some of the spirit of 'La grassa' to the dishOften when you order or make a vegetarian bolognese it doesn't read as one it may be nice but it's often a pomedoro with pretensions. i have a friend who absolutely loves bolognese but doesn't see the lead time for a bolognese as a particular impediment. She isn't vegetarian but lentils proved to be the answer they lend a kind of savory density to the ragu.


Green lentils (just use a can if you have time to boil lentils you have too much time,)
Carrot (minced)
Celery (minced)
Onion (minced)
Garlic (minced)
Tomato puree (about a teaspoon)
Tin of toms
Bay leaf
Dry vermouth (about a cup)
Parmesan rind (a Parmesan rind is an absolute gold mine of umami please don't throw them away chuck them in a soup a stew or a sauce like this and it will lend a depth to it. i would like to be able to buy Parmesan rinds but i cannot find a friendly enough cheese-monger)
salt
pepper
olive oil
butter


  1. A base of a hearty sauce like this often calls for what is known in Italy as sofrito (I tend to say Mirepoix for some reason) to do this we cook the carrot, celery and onion in the butter and oil on quite low heat for about fifteen or twenty minuets. 
  2. After the sofrito has softened add the garlic and sautee breifly before adding the tomato puree and cook off for about two minuets before adding the Parmesan rind and vermouth and reduce by half. 
  3. Add the lentils and tomatoes, cook for about seven minuets.  


Combine with pasta (Don't serve it on top) and serve. tagliatelle or rigatoni would be my choice but anything that isn't fusilli or a small soup pasta. top with Parmesan cheese if you want. I most often use parsley on top of this recipe instead of basil not sure why really.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cheese Souflee

 'It's not posh I promise' ok I know its a soufflé and mostly you see them made by extremely high strung cartoon chefs and deflated by loud noises. and I know French food is often seen as fussy and intricate. My experience of French food is quite different.  My mum traveled to France as a young woman and waiting at a ferry terminal for a bus to Dijon looked for a cookbook for French foods to cook at her friends farm house. she had the good fortune to pick up an unfussy volume of what was mostly French peasant cuisine.  We still eat meals from it (including our now traditional Christmas eve boeuf bourguignon).  growing up we used to have cheese soufflé to use up odds and ends of cheese or to 'tart up a salad' mom makes it now with absolutely no measurements of any kind. serve this with French salads (we have a remoulade, a cucumber crème fresh salad, and a grated carrot, cumin and parsley salad here) This is based on the recipe that is in moms cook book, I've bas...

Jerk halloumi, jerk coleslaw and rice and peas (one from the vaults)

‘A spicy treat’ This is a weekend jerk halloumi. Mid week you would just use any commercial jerk rub most of them are pretty good but the fresh is more vibrant. The side dishes elevate this to the level of a feast. Keep adding people until you have a party. Tastes best from a barbecue Jerk halloumi Ginger (a large thumb, don't bother peeling) Honey A bulb of Garlic (equal to shallots in volume) About two Shallots or scallions One Scotch bonnet (hot as hell but cannot be substituted I have to be strict about this, note from future Jake yes you do loose something if you don't use a scotch bonnet but don't let that stop you from making it without ) Thyme (fresh and stripped off the stems, as much as you can be arsed with about one and a half supermarket bunches, also dried thyme works fine) Lime (both zest and juice) Allspice (also known as pimento) nutmeg (a good grating) cinnamon (a sprinkle) smoked paprika (a teaspoon) Liquid smoke (just a dab if you'r...

Roast onion and rice

'this really packs a punch'   This is something simple and delicious that has an almost completely unearned veneer of sophistication. the sauce is the trick here it does a lot of heavy lifting, don't be tempted to douse the dish in the sauce because that will end in a salty mess but rest assured that a drizzle would make even just plain rice an indulgent experience.  Ingredients  shallots 800g (the long thin ones if you can get them) Cherry tomatoes 250g  Curry powder (a spare teaspoon) 4 eggs (right on the far edge of soft-boiled) Soy sauce (good soy sauce, this is one of the central flavors of the dish so go premium) Garlic 5 cloves  Ginger  1 Bunch coriander  Kafir lime leaf (I recommend frozen over dried) Cornstarch  Sugar  Toasted sesame oil  Neutral oil (just a splash)  Sushi rice (cooked to packet instructions, does have to be sushi rice) Pickled radish (I pickled mine with beetroot juice but that was mostly aesthetic) Halve ...