Feeding your family healthy and nutritious meals doesn’t need to be complicated. This Italian inspired lentil Bolognese recipe is simple, yet delicious! A hit with adultsmacro and children alike, it’s the perfect meal to boost your families plant diversity and nourish their gut health. This Bolognese is rich in micro and macronutrients, creating a nourishing, yet tasty meal.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 carrot, grated
- 1 TSP dried oregano
- 1 TBSP tomato paste
- 1 small aubergine, cubed
- 600g of tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin of green lentils, drained
- 1 large handful of walnuts, roasted
- 1/2 TSP honey
- 1 TBSP sundried tomato paste
- 1 TSP soy sauce
- 1/2 of a vegetable stock cube
- 1 TBSP of balsamic vinegar
- 2 handfuls of spinach
- Sea salt
- Ground black pepper
Serve with;
- Wholewheat pasta
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
Method
- Gently heat the olive oil in a large pan on a low to medium heat.
- Add the finely chopped onions and crushed garlic and cook until soft.
- Next, add the oregano, tomato paste and grated carrot. Cook for 5 minutes until the mixture is well combined.
- Add the chopped aubergine, along with some sea salt and stir well, cooking for around 10 minutes until soft. To prevent the vegetables from sticking to the pan, stir well and add small amounts of water as needed.
- Once the aubergine is soft, add the tinned tomatoes and simmer on the heat for 40 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add the honey, soy sauce, sundried tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and stock cube and stir well.
- Whilst the Bolognese cooks, pop the pre-roasted walnuts in a food processor and blitz until the nuts are fully broken up.
- To the sauce, add the drained green lentils and walnuts.
- After 30 minutes, add the wholewheat pasta to a pan of boiling water and cook according to the instructions.
- When the sauce has cooked for 40 minutes, stir through the spinach leaves and allow these to wilt for a few minutes.
- Taste and season with sea salt and pepper as needed.
- Once the pasta is cooked. Simply drain the pasta and serve with the Bolognese sauce.
- Add grated parmesan on top and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
For fussy eaters, simply blend the Bolognese sauce until smooth before serving with pasta.
For more nutritious meal inspiration, check out this delicious Gut-healthy Greek Salad
Any questions? Contact one of our Nutritional Therapists via live chat, weekdays from 8am to 8pm.
