Lentil & Mushroom Ragù

Lentil & Mushroom Ragù

We've had our first snow storm at the farm and comfort food is what we're craving. This simple pasta is tossed with a lentil ragù and is not only hearty, but is vegan to boot. I served this dish with my favorite almond crumbled (which stands in for parmesan cheese) and a giant glass of red wine for a nourishing weeknight meal. This dish contains quite a few ingredients but most of which I think you'll have on hand. Also, feel free to use parmesan cheese instead of the almond crumble...however, I love the texture and flavor of the almond crumble and love having a jar of it on the counter for easy access to top on pasta, salads, soups, and even hummus. Go wild! This dish will make your house smell amazing as it slowly simmers in your kitchen. Pour a glass of wine and relax while your stove does all the work! Happy comfort food season everyone. Cheers from a snowy Tumbleweed Farm.

Lentil & Mushroom Ragù

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

 Ragù
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
  • 3 carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 1/4 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped (mix of button, cremini etc.)
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3/4 cup red wine (any good drinking red wine will work here)
  • 1 cup brown or green lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • one 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 3/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • minced parsley for serving
  • 12 ounces penne pasta
Almond Crumble
  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preparation

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 6 minutes longer. Stir in the tomato paste and mix until all the veggies are evenly coated. Add the red wine and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the lentils, diced tomatoes, veggie broth, thyme, oregano, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture back up to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
  2. While the ragù simmers bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of liquid to add to the ragù if needed.
  3. Prepare the almond crumble by combining all the ingredients in a small food processor or blender. Process until it becomes the texture of a fine meal. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
  4. Divide pasta between bowls, top with the ragù, minced parsley and plenty of almond crumble.

Notes

*Use this recipe as a guide *Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary

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