The red lentil ragù is easy to prepare, a quick recipe for vegan cooking. A great vegetable dish for everyone: children and adults. A sauce recommended both by botanical cuisine and Marco Bianchi, perfect to prepare even with the Thermomix. A good dressing for pasta, gnocchi, and risotto. Perfect to accompany: boiled rice, spelt, barley, buckwheat. Ideal for preparing lasagna or to enhance polenta. Or simply to eat as a side dish (stewed lentils) or as a soup, by adding some vegetable broth.
Discover here all the properties of lentils.
SEASONALITY #legumes #dried lentils: available all year.
RECIPES with lentils
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: Yields for 300 g dry lentils
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 125.15 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 19.31 (g) of which sugars 0.74 (g)
- Proteins 6.65 (g)
- Fat 2.86 (g) of which saturated 0.49 (g)of which unsaturated 2.19 (g)
- Fibers 3.56 (g)
- Sodium 116.53 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Red Lentil Ragù
if desired, deglaze with half a glass of wine (white or red)
- to taste peanut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 carrot
- 300 g red split lentils (or miniature dried lentils)
- to taste water (or vegetable broth)
- Half teaspoon paprika
- to taste salt
- 200 g tomato puree (or canned tomatoes)
- to taste curry
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 leaves bay leaf (dried)
Tools
- Cutting Board
- Knife smooth blade well-sharpened
- Pot
- Ladle
Red Lentil Ragù
Soak the lentils briefly in cold water.
Heat some water or prepare hot vegetable broth.
Clean and wash the vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, garlic), then cut them into regular pieces. Alternatively, you can finely chop them with a food chopper.
In a sauté pan, brown the vegetables with a little water and oil for 5 – 10 minutes. Add the drained and washed lentils, let them absorb the flavors, deglaze with wine (optional). Add enough hot water to cover the lentils.
Halfway through cooking add the tomato puree, bay leaf, salt, and paprika. Bring everything to cooking and add more hot water when necessary.
Cook for about 20 minutes or until the lentils break down to achieve a more creamy and pasty ragù.
At the end of cooking, season with chopped parsley or torn basil.
ALTERNATIVES or VARIANTS
For a tomato-free preparation, try adding:
– diced pumpkin
– fresh, frozen, or dried mushrooms (previously soaked)
With canned lentils, this vegetable ragù is ready in no time: just drain, rinse, and let them absorb the flavors in the sauté.
Instead of canned tomatoes, try using oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes minced.
Light Version
Use only water for the sauté, then add extra virgin olive oil raw at the last moment.
STORAGE of lentil ragù
It can be stored in an airtight container:
– 3 days in the fridge
– 3 months in the freezer
