Meatless Sauce

For those amongst us who wish not to eat RED meat but still wish to make great dishes such as lasagne, cottage pie or spaghetti bolognese, then please try this ‘healthy’ lentil alternative. Always cook slowly and the final pulse in the food processor will give it that beef mince texture.

15 mins+ 30 mins lentil soak

1 hour

Stove cooking

Ingredients

350g brown lentils

- washed and soaked 30 minutes
2 medium red onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 carrots

- washed and peeled
2 medium red peppers

- stalks and seeds removed
250g button mushrooms
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
400ml stock

- vegetable
2 tbsp soya sauce
Ground black pepper

Instructions

Prepare lentils:
01 In a separate bowl soak lentils in cold water.
Prepare vegetable ingredients:
02 Place onions, garlic, red peppers, carrots and mushrooms in a food processor and pulse to a coarse mixture.
Assemble to cook:
03 Heat olive oil in a pan. Add all the coarsely chopped vegetables. Cook for a few minutes. Add dried herbs, stock, soya sauce and season with black pepper. Drain the lentils and add to the vegetable mixture. Bring to the boil and slowly simmer very gently for one hour or until the lentils are soft.
04 When the lentils are cooked, place the mixture into a food processor and roughly pulse.
05 Serve hot or use as required.

Notes

This no-meat, 'vegetarian' style sauce acts as a great substitute for many meat dishes such as cottage pie or spaghetti bolognese. This sauce is also great for lasagne or cannelloni and I would recommend adding 135g or tomato puree to the basic recipe for a more traditional 'Italian' taste.