Lentil Bolognese with Bucatini

When I was a kid, my (super Italian) mom kept her amazing bolognese recipe on our family’s weekly dinner rotation. Let me tell you—it is the best and I’ve tried to follow her recipe in the past, but it never turns out as good as hers. It must be an Italian mama thing, or maybe she’s secretly doubling the amount of wine it calls for... 

While I’ll never lose my love for traditional bolognese, I rarely eat beef anymore—veggies, chicken, and fish are my main proteins. Just to clarify, by “main proteins” I mean “healthy-ish things to put on top of all the pasta and bread I eat”. 

So, when I started craving bolognese last week, I decided to work on a recipe for a lentil-based, vegetarian take on a classic bolognese. 

Now, the problem is, if you simply swap out beef for lentils and follow the same traditional recipe, you’ll miss a ton of flavor and richness from the beef. That’s why I included a few unconventional ingredients, like adobo sauce to replace the smoky taste of pancetta, and soy sauce and miso to build back the rich umami flavor to make the sauce taste a little more beef-like. 

If you’re someone who doesn’t really love measuring out ingredients like myself, just be careful to not over-do it on the adobo sauce, soy sauce, or miso, otherwise you might run the risk of throwing the flavor off-balance and turning your bolognese into an Italian-Mexican-Japanese fusion pasta sauce (although that actually does sound quite delicious!!). When I made this recipe I added just enough of these ingredients to add richness without straying too far from a traditional recipe. 

Lentil Bolognese with Bucatini

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 2 large carrots, finely chopped

• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped

• 16 oz fresh mushrooms (crimini or baby portobello are awesome here), roughly chopped 

• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes

• 4 tbsp tomato paste

• 1 tbsp adobo sauce (I scooped mine out of a small can of chipotles in adobo sauce)

• 2 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp white miso 

• 3/4 cup red wine 

• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning 

• 1/2 tsp oregano 

• 1 bay leaf 

• 1 cup dried brown lentils

• 2 cups vegetable broth

• 1 lb bucatini pasta

• optional garnish: parsley and parmesan cheese 

To make: 

1. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until onion is slightly translucent, about 4 minutes.

3. Add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, adobo sauce, soy sauce, miso, wine, Italian seasoning, oregano, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes to thicken.

5. Add the lentils and broth and return to a simmer. Cook over medium-low heat for 1 hour, adding water as needed if the sauce becomes too thick.

6. Cook the bucatini in salted, boiling water and remove just before al dente. Using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the pot into the bolognese sauce. Add leftover pasta water as needed to thin out the pasta sauce.

7. Season with salt and pepper, and garnish with parmesan and parsley.