February: Lentil Bolognese
This month’s recipe is a very versatile lentil bolognese recipe. It makes good use of low cost store cupboard items and seasonal staples such as onions and carrots. A bolognese is a classic Mediterranean dish. You may want to make it more authentic cooking with olive oil.
The recipe will make about four portions. If you want to make a bigger amount you could add an extra tin of tomatoes and an extra tin of lentils. Lentils are a great source of protein and fibre. You may like to use your own homemade stock rather than a shop bought cube or you could try adding more vegetables such as finely chopped celery with the carrots. If you’ve got any Italian style mixed dried herbs in the cupboard, add them along with the onions and garlic at the start of the recipe. The bolognese can be served with your favourite pasta, on top of a jacket potato or even in a pitta bread or a wrap with some salad. It will keep well in the fridge for a few days so you could try out all the options.
Serves 4 Prep time 10 minutes. Cooking time 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 large carrots, grated
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- A tin of chopped tomatoes
- A tin of green lentils
- 100g of sundried tomatoes, chopped small
- One vegetable stock cube
- Tablespoon of tomato puree
- 2 gloves of garlic, crushed
- Tablespoon of olive oil
Instructions:
Heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan. Add the chopped onions, garlic and grated carrots and cook them over a medium heat for 2-4 mins until the onions start to soften.
Add the tinned tomatoes, lentils, sun-dried tomatoes, and the tomato puree. Crumble in the stock cube and season with a little salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and pop a lid on the pan if you have one and leave to cook away for about 30 mins. You may need to add some boiling water to loosen the bolognaise. 50/100mls depending on whether you like thicker sauces.
Serve with pasta or on a jacket potato. Keep your leftovers in the fridge and try it for lunch the next day in a pitta bread.
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What’s in season this month?
This month recipe can be made with store cupboard ingredients and the addition of just a few fresh items. Carrots and onions are available all year round. It’s a great recipe for batch cooking and using in a number of ways. Any leftovers can be frozen to be enjoyed at a later date. Vegetables in season this month include; carrots, Brussel sprouts, parsnips, spring green cabbage, savoy cabbage, cauliflower, kale and leeks