Delicious vegetarian lentil ragu

Not too long ago I shared a delicious beef ragu with you. And in that article I also told you that it is relatively easy to make a vegetarian ragú with lentils. So a lentil ragú! I thought it would be a good idea to work out the recipe for you and share it here. Basically, the recipe is not very different from the meat version; the big difference is of course that you use lentils instead of meat.

You start, as often in Italian dishes, with frying the onion. Then add the carrot, celery and mushrooms. Then the soy sauce, garlic and lentils – fry this whole for a few minutes.

Then the coconut milk and the tomato cubes are added and you season everything with the spices. Then let it simmer for about 10 minutes. The lentils are of course already done (since they come from a can), so fortunately they don’t take much time. Finally, stir in the chopped walnuts or sprinkle them on top when serving.

Serve the lentil ragú with a tasty pasta and grated Parmesan cheese. Incidentally, this dish is lactose-free; so if you want to keep it completely lactose-free, omit the Parmesan cheese or replace it with a vegetable variant of cheese.

Tip: do you have a nut allergy? Then you can easily omit the walnuts. That is an extra addition, but not a must.

lentil ragu recipe

PREPARATION TIME:   55 min    Persons:   4      CALORIES:    450 kcal

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 large winter carrot finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks cut into small cubes
• 200 gr chopped chestnut mushrooms
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 400 gr canned lentils
• 120 ml coconut milk
• 1 tin of diced tomatoes 400 gr
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 100 gr walnuts chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Serve with:
• Pasta of your choice
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh basil or thyme

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oil in a large pan on medium. Add the onion and fry it until it is nice and translucent. Add the carrot and celery. Bake for a while. Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, garlic and lentils and cook again for a few minutes.
2. Add the diced tomatoes, coconut milk, tomato paste and spices and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Lower the heat and let it simmer for a minute or 10. Add more spices and / or salt and pepper to taste.
4. Finally, stir in the chopped walnuts.
5. Serve the ragu with pasta, lots of parmesan cheese and the fresh herbs

NOTES

Pasta is not included in the nutritional value calculation!

NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER SERVING

Calories: 450 kcal

Carbohydrates: 42 g

Protein: 18 g

Fat: 27 g

Saturated fats: 8 g

Sodium: 693 mg

Potassium: 1252 mg

Fiber: 13 g

Sugar: 12 g

Vitamin A: 3635 IU

Vitamin C: 21 mg

Calcium: 135 mg

Iron: 7 mg

DISCLAIMER

The stated nutritional value is based on standard tables and therefore an estimated total. No rights can be derived from the information in the nutritional table.