This is truly delicious. My vegetarian friends in the office were very very happy with me, but also the meat lovers couldn’t believe how nice this meatless meal really was. A green salad on the side made this dish look even more appetizing.

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 carrot
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 stick of celery
olive oil
2 fresh bay leaves
½ a bunch of fresh thyme
4 large portobello mushrooms
100 g dried Puy lentils
2 tablespoons tomato purée
400 ml organic vegetable stock
1 x 400 g tin of plum tomatoes
350 g dried pappadelle
½ a bunch of fresh baby basil
Parmesan cheese

Method

Peel the carrot, onion and garlic, trim the celery and roughly chop. Pulse it all in a food processor, until finely chopped.
Heat a good splash of oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chopped veg mixture and bay leaves, pick in the thyme leaves and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes or until soft.
Blitz the mushrooms in the food processor until finely chopped. Add to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, until softened.
Stir in the lentils, tomato purée and stock, and squish in the plum tomatoes.
Season, reduce the heat to low and pop a lid on. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
When the lentils are almost done, cook the pappardelle according to the packet instructions, until al dente.
Drain the pasta and stir it through the bolognese sauce. Pick the basil leaves and sprinkle over the bolognese with a good grating of Parmesan to serve.