A week of eating vegetarian meant I needed to come up with some delicious meat free dishes. So, I decided to convert a few of my favourite traditional meat dishes into delicious flavour packed vegan options. This dish is still so hearty even without the meat, it is bursting with flavour and contains a lot of vegetables, protein and nourishing ingredients! A favourite with my husband who didn’t miss the meat in it at all.
Give it a go and let me know how you get on!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery stalk, finely diced
- 1 can lentils
- 2 sprigs of basil (including stalk)
- 200 grams mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon Italian herbs
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- A Jar of good quality Italian pasata – roughly 400 grams
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- Salt & Pepper
- Your choice of pasta to serve
- Your choice of vegan cheese
Method:
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or casserole dish. Add the diced onion and cook through for a few minutes. Next add the finely diced carrots, celery and minced garlic and continue to cook for a further few minutes.
- Place 2 basil stalks in the pan, along with the mushrooms and some salt. Mix well.
- Next add the cinnamon, chilli flakes and Italian herbs and stir through.
- Place the lentils, tomato paste and give everything a good mix before adding the Pasata and vegetable stock.
- Allow to simmer on low for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking. Adjust the seasoning if required.
- Whilst the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta.
- Serve hot over spaghetti, garnish with some basil and your choice of cheese!
