For this week's challenge - 'La Pasta Perfetta' - I decided to prepare that much-loved meal: good old spag bol. It can be hard to find vegetarian recipes that match up to ones containing meat, but I can assure you this bolognese is as satisfyingly meaty as a non-meat dish gets! Full of flavour and a great texture too. I used to get frozen or dried soya mince for bolognese, but don't bother with that these days as I find lentils and beans are a much better option, for both nutrition and 'meatiness'. Whether or not she's a vegetarian, I like to think the Old Dog's wife would give this a thumbs up :-)
I honestly don't know what other vegetarian bolognese recipes are out there, as I like to make mine up completely rather than basing them on other people's ideas. I imagine plenty of people use legumes too, but this is 100% my own recipe.
I have included steps for homemade garlic bread as well, as I don't think spag bol is quite complete without it. It's my Wholewheat Irish Soda Bread recipe, as it's not only the quickest and easiest bread to make, but I find the crunchiness so delicious for garlic bread. A loaf literally takes 5 minutes to make, and then it bakes for 45 minutes. Bulk baking and cooking is my habit, as it means time and energy saved for another day, so I made 2 loaves even though we only need a few slices for this meal. The quantities for the bolognese are also for more than one meal, as the remaining can be frozen (or refrigerated if you'll use within the next couple of days), and the bread can be frozen too, so we may as well make plenty.
What you will need for the bolognese: (makes at least enough for 2 people, for 2 meals)
200g red lentils
4 cups or 2 tins/cartons of red kidney beans
2 red onions
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
6 or more cloves garlic
1 jar/carton tomato passata
1 tblsp honey
2 tblsp red wine
1 tblsp wholegrain mustard
1 tblsp pesto (green or red)
2 tsp salt
1 tblsp black pepper
1 tblsp oregano
1 tblsp thyme
1 tblsp basil
1 tblsp turmeric
1 tblsp cinnamon
Coconut oil (for frying)
150g per person wholewheat spaghetti
A little cheese to sprinkle on top - your choice what kind (I use mature cheddar)
For the garlic bread: (makes 2 loaves)
16oz fine wholewheat flour
8oz coarse wholewheat flour
8oz strong wholewheat bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bread soda
1.5 pint buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 tsp vinegar added, leave 15 mins to sour)
Mixed seeds (eg pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, linseed)
Butter
4 cloves garlic
Method:
I start by making the bread so it has chance to cool before slicing later on.
In a large bowl mix together all the flours, salt and bread soda.
Add the buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until all the milk is blended in, and then mix more thoroughly by using your hand to squeeze the mixture through your fingers. I do love the squelchy feeling! The mixture will remain quite wet, so kneading isn't necessary.
Divide the mixture between 2 loaf tins and sprinkle generously with seeds. Pop into the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 45 minutes.
Turn the loaves out of the tins and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Now for the bolognese!
Put the lentils into a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes until the lentils are soft.
Drain and set aside.
Pour the kidney beans into a colander/sieve and rinse well until the water runs clear.
Transfer into a bowl and half-mash with a potato masher, so that some are squashed and some remain whole. This will give the bolognese a great 'meaty' texture.
Wash, peel and dice the peppers, onions and garlic, as fine or as chunky as you like.
Put into a large frying pan with a good knob of coconut oil, and saute on moderate heat for about 8-10 minutes until the veg has softened.
Add the tomato passata, lentils and kidney beans to the pan, and mix well.
Add the honey, wine, mustard, pesto, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, turmeric and cinnamon to the bolognese and stir in well.
Mmmmmm.... lovely and meaty looking! Continue to simmer on low heat for another 15 minutes or so whilst you prepare the spaghetti and garlic bread.
Put the spaghetti into a pan (I break mine in half for ease of eating, but I'm told the Italians frown on that!)
Cover with boiling water and cook on moderate heat for about 10 minutes.
Slice the bread into however many pieces you're going to eat. Two is more than enough for me!
Finely chop the garlic and mix with enough butter to spread on your slices of bread.
Sprinkle with oregano and pop under a medium-hot grill for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
Drain the spaghetti and put onto your plate, followed by a few spoonfuls of bolognese in the centre and grated cheese sprinkled over the top.
Serve with a nice glass of red wine, your garlic bread on the side, and enjoy your meaty bolognese with the bonus of no actual meat! Hooray for the cows :-)
Many thanks to @englishtchrivy for hosting this challenge... I really enjoyed taking part!
Also many thanks to the sponsors - @smooth, @sirwinchester and @knozaki2015.
If you enjoyed my post, please follow me for more healthy recipes for meals and snacks!
Logo kindly created for me by @papa-pepper