Lentil bolognese

Pasta bolognese was a childhood favorite that made its way on to the dinner plate at least once a week. If it wasn’t my mom whipping up her amazing bolognese, it was definitely on the lunch menu in school.

The bolognese isn’t only a popular dish, but we all have our own twist on it. Some people prefer it more tomatoy, while others like it richer with heavy cream and wine. My mom loved it because it made it the perfect dish to sneak in veggies into, such as grated carrots and zucchini. Italian or not, everyone loves a good bowl of hearty bolognese!

Pasta and sauce it a combo that can’t go wrong, and bolognese is probably the most popular sauce to get up close with our dear pasta. The only thing that kinda sucks with a classic bolognese is that the main ingredient is mince. Meat. Beef. Cow. I ain’t about that life, so instead I’m going to share with you a plant based, easy, just as delicious lentil and mushroom bolognese recipe. Not to mention way more nutritious!

Red lentils are perfect as a mince replacement since it tends to break apart when cooked, creating that “mincy” texture. Mushrooms adds some extra chewyness and that umami flavor to tie it all together.

Serve it together with some grated zucchini and fresh spinach to get a pop of freshness, and with a side of your carbohydrate of choice.

Ingredients

1/2 shallot
1 dl red lentils
3 dl water
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Spinach
Tomato paste
Ginger
Black pepper
Turmeric
Cayenne pepper
Curry powder
Salt

Instructions

1. Cut up your onion and fry it in some oil or water until translucent. Add in grated ginger and all the spices.

2. Add in your lentils and the water. Let boil and then lower the heat and let cook for about 10 min. Keep an eye on it and add in some extra water if it gets to dry. You don’t want to burn this bad boy!!

3. Add in your mushrooms and let them wilt down in the lentil stew. Taste off, and add in more spices if you feel like it needs more sting.

4. Squeeze in some tomato paste and mix it all up.

5. Serve lentil bolognese on a bed of spinach and grated zucchini, and voila! Enjoy!

I ate this together with sweet potatoes, but you can feel free to eat it with rice or pasta or whatever you want if you feel like the veggies alone won’t fill you up.

It’s easy peasy to turn your childhood favorites into healthier, plant based alternatives. Not to mention, its way cheaper as well! You simply can’t go wrong with that! If you try out this recipe, let me know what you think about it.

Linnéa KindstromLeave a comment

Butternut squash dip

I’ve been obsessing a bit over butternut squash pure lately, and I decided to get some beet chips and blessed them with some butternut squash dip. May I tell you, that the beets thanked me hard and heavy for getting dipped into this orangy, mushy goodness.

Not only is butternut squash delicious, it is also packed with vitamin A, vitamin C, B-6, and magnesium together with a shit ton of fiber. Win win my friends.

Ingredients:

Butternut squash purée
Spinach
Aubergine / Eggplant
Zucchini
Pepper
Salt
Turmeric
Ginger
Smoked paprika

Instructions:

The process of this recipe is as easy peasy as saying “bone apple tea”. The first thing you need to do is to preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Cut up your eggplant and zucchini into as equally thin pieces as possible. Line them on some wax paper, squeeze on some lime or olive oil and spice up with some salt and pepper (or whatever spices you wish).  Bake in oven for about 15 min/20 min. Keep an eye on those bad boys so they don’t burn.

In a pan with some water, saute your spinach for a minute or two.

In a bowl, mix together your butternut squash pure, the sauteed spinach, and all your spices into a nice creamy dip. Top it off with the eggplant and zucchini, and sprinkle on some chili flakes and black pepper for the esthetics. Guys, that’s it!!

Enjoy with whatever chips or bread you prefer. Go cray cray!

Linnéa KindstromLeave a comment

Green lentil wrap

Meals that are simple as 1,2,3 are goals. All made in one pot? Even better! Less dishes, fast, and yummy. What more can a lazy person ask for when it comes to food preparation? This green lentil wrap is just that. The nutrition load is just a bonus addition!

So, there’s a little background story about this bad boy. I’m literally obsessed with the spicy lentil wrap from Trader Joe’s with tahini sauce. But seriously, for the same amount of money as one of those wraps you can make like five wraps if you do it yourself. Yes, I know, just getting it from TJ’s is going to go way faster than getting down in the kitchen, but when you make it yourself you know exactly what you put in it, you can put your personal touch on, and save some bucks. So this recipe is inspired by the TJ’s spicy mama – but turned out completely different. Obviously still delicious!!

What you need:

1.5 / 2 cups of water
Lentils of choice, I used yellow lentils since they tend to be smoother
Choice of greens, I used kale and spinach.
Zucchini
Rep pepper
Tomatoes
Corn
Garlic (if wanted)
Onion (if wanted)
Salt
Pepper
Turmeric
Cayenne pepper
Hot sauce
Tahini sauce
Lavash bread, or tortilla, whatever flat bread you prefer.

First step is to prepare the lentils. If you use the garlic and onion in your recipe you would finely chop your stinkers and sauté them in a pan, on medium/low heat, together with a little bit of water. Don’t let them get any color, but If your onions starts to stick, simply add some more water.

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Take 1 cup of lentils and add in about 1.5 – 2 cups of water, add in some salt, cook up to a boil and let simmer on medium/low for about 20 min. Make sure to keep an eye on your lentils, and stir so they don’t stick. You might have to add in some more water if they start to thicken up. When you’re lentils are almost ready, they should still be a bit liquidy than mushy. When it has reached this consistency you add your spices, and add in your greens. If you need to, add in more water to not make it completely mushy. When your greens are wilted into the lentil mush add the remaining veggies and mix it all together. Remember than the end goal and consistency you want is a “liquidy mush”, sounds super cozy doesn’t it? You want it mushy but not dry.

 

When you have your lentil paste you simply put it on a lavash wrap, or warp of choice, drizzle over some tahini sauce, wrap it up, and enjoy that bad boy! This recipe makes for 1, 2, 3, or 4 servings! I’ve always thought that “servings” are completely individual, and if you can, and need all of it – eat it! If not, share it with someone or keep the leftovers.

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Voila!!

Linnéa KindstromLeave a comment