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December 30, 2019This is about...
Vegan LENTIL BOLOGNESE!---YUM!
Vegan LENTIL BOLOGNESE!---YUM!
2020 WILL SOON BE HERE! Traditions abound on how it's celebrated. In the U.S. we
watch the ball drop in Times Square, toast with some champagne and maybe a kiss. Other countries have their own unique traditions.
Long noodles, representing long life, are eaten in Japan. In Scandanavia,
herring, with it's silvery color represents abundance, while
pigs cut out of marzipan guarantee good luck.
In Spain and Portugal, 12 grapes representing each month are eaten at midnight as fast as possible.
Tamales are eaten in Mexico, and little fried donuts called
Oliebollen help ring in January 1st in the Netherlands. Anything round typically symbolizes money and wealth--hence
circular cakes in Norway, Greece and France.
Lentils do the trick in Italy. You get the idea...
OUR FAMILY HAD ITS TRADITIONS AS WELL. Every New Year's Day my grandmother made it mandatory that everyone have at least one spoonful of this horrible, thick, pasty gray soup made out of lentils. THE ONLY REDEEMING VALUE was that there were these PINKISH SLICES OF HOTDOG PEEKING OUT OF IT. I'm sure that was a concession to the younger family members. But, it still didn't stop us from holding our noses and closing our eyes as we unwillingly swallowed what she believed would bring us all good luck and health in the year to come.
MY MOTHER'S TRADTION OF EATING PICKLED HERRING AT MIDNIGHT WAS ALWAYS AN ABJECT FAILURE. Guess her 3 kids were DOOMED on an annual basis.
HERE IS A MUCH MORE TASTY WAY TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR. And you'll be starting the year off in a healthy direction. It features lentils, mimicking the ground meat in a traditional Bolognese. The lentils are there, but their flavor is absorbed into the sauce and really only add body, protein and, of course, THEY HAVE THE ADDED BENEFIT OF INSURING GOOD LUCK AND PROSPERITY. Filled with vegetables, it's also coincidentally vegan. And, with a little help from a food processor and canned lentils, this sauce is ready to go in less than 45 minutes.
Plus, just in case you're interested, I'VE INCLUDED A RECIPE FOR VEGAN PARMESAN CHEESE. If vegan isn't your thing, regular parmesan is always going to be delicious.
But, where ever you live, the main hope, as is mine, is always the same-- A WISH FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE PEACE, LOVE, PROSPERITY, HEALTH, AND JOY IN THE NEW YEAR!
THE HAPPIEST OF HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR'S TO YOU!
LESSONS Learned:
1. A food processor makes quick work out of mincing all of the veggies. But you can also do that by hand.
2. A can of lentils saves a lot of time. You can cook your own ahead of time, but you risk ending up with a lot of pasty beans. If you do want to cook them yourself, I recommend using French lentils, called Lentilles Du Puy or Puys lentils, as they keep their shape.
3. I love the addition of red wine, but if you like, you could sub in about 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar with enough water to bring it up to 1/2 of a cup.
4. I f you make the vegan parm, make sure to freeze the cashews. that insures you won't turn them into a butter.
5. Add more lentils to this sauce and it would be a great base for a vegan shepherd's pie, or you could even leave out the lentils and have a delicious sauce.
Vegan LENTIL Bolognese
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 medium size red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste
1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 - 3/4 cup red wine
28 oz jar or can organic Italian tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 large bay leaf
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1-2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, or honey (optional)
1 15 oz. can brown lentils, drained, I like low sodium, organic Westbrae brand
------------------
Fresh parsley or basil for garnish
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, or Vegan Parm (recipe below)
1 pound spaghetti, 2 spiralized medium zucchini steamed, or cooked spaghetti squash
Make the bolognese:
With a food processor running, drop the garlic through the feed tube until finely minced. Add the chunked onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, and red bell pepper into the bowl of the food processor and process until finely minced. You may need to do this in 2 batches.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the minced vegetables, salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes and sauté until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Push the veggies to one side and add the tomato paste to the pot, stirring until fragrant--it might brown slightly.
Stir in the wine, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, water, the bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and coconut sugar (if using) and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the lentils, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta. Reserve about a cup for the cooking water. If you want a thinner sauce, add some of the cooking water to the simmering sauce. (I never need it though.) Add the drained pasta back into its cooking pot and stir in some of the sauce to coat the pasta. Serve with more sauce. Zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash would be delicious alternatives.
Garnish with fresh parsley and/or basil, and vegan or regular parmesan cheese. Keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days, frozen for 3 months, and can be easily halved.
Makes 6-8 servings. YUM!
Vegan Parmesan
1/2 cup raw cashews, frozen
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8th teaspoon garlic powder
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl of a food processor. Pulse and process until it becomes a fine powder. Store in the fridge for up to a month.
Makes about 3/4 cup.
OUR FAMILY HAD ITS TRADITIONS AS WELL. Every New Year's Day my grandmother made it mandatory that everyone have at least one spoonful of this horrible, thick, pasty gray soup made out of lentils. THE ONLY REDEEMING VALUE was that there were these PINKISH SLICES OF HOTDOG PEEKING OUT OF IT. I'm sure that was a concession to the younger family members. But, it still didn't stop us from holding our noses and closing our eyes as we unwillingly swallowed what she believed would bring us all good luck and health in the year to come.
MY MOTHER'S TRADTION OF EATING PICKLED HERRING AT MIDNIGHT WAS ALWAYS AN ABJECT FAILURE. Guess her 3 kids were DOOMED on an annual basis.
HERE IS A MUCH MORE TASTY WAY TO RING IN THE NEW YEAR. And you'll be starting the year off in a healthy direction. It features lentils, mimicking the ground meat in a traditional Bolognese. The lentils are there, but their flavor is absorbed into the sauce and really only add body, protein and, of course, THEY HAVE THE ADDED BENEFIT OF INSURING GOOD LUCK AND PROSPERITY. Filled with vegetables, it's also coincidentally vegan. And, with a little help from a food processor and canned lentils, this sauce is ready to go in less than 45 minutes.
Plus, just in case you're interested, I'VE INCLUDED A RECIPE FOR VEGAN PARMESAN CHEESE. If vegan isn't your thing, regular parmesan is always going to be delicious.
But, where ever you live, the main hope, as is mine, is always the same-- A WISH FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE PEACE, LOVE, PROSPERITY, HEALTH, AND JOY IN THE NEW YEAR!
LESSONS Learned:
1. A food processor makes quick work out of mincing all of the veggies. But you can also do that by hand.
2. A can of lentils saves a lot of time. You can cook your own ahead of time, but you risk ending up with a lot of pasty beans. If you do want to cook them yourself, I recommend using French lentils, called Lentilles Du Puy or Puys lentils, as they keep their shape.
3. I love the addition of red wine, but if you like, you could sub in about 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar and a pinch of sugar with enough water to bring it up to 1/2 of a cup.
4. I f you make the vegan parm, make sure to freeze the cashews. that insures you won't turn them into a butter.
5. Add more lentils to this sauce and it would be a great base for a vegan shepherd's pie, or you could even leave out the lentils and have a delicious sauce.
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 stalk celery, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 medium size red bell pepper, seeded, deveined and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste
1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 - 3/4 cup red wine
28 oz jar or can organic Italian tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 large bay leaf
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1-2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, or honey (optional)
1 15 oz. can brown lentils, drained, I like low sodium, organic Westbrae brand
------------------
Fresh parsley or basil for garnish
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, or Vegan Parm (recipe below)
1 pound spaghetti, 2 spiralized medium zucchini steamed, or cooked spaghetti squash
Make the bolognese:
With a food processor running, drop the garlic through the feed tube until finely minced. Add the chunked onions, carrots, celery, zucchini, and red bell pepper into the bowl of the food processor and process until finely minced. You may need to do this in 2 batches.
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the minced vegetables, salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes and sauté until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Push the veggies to one side and add the tomato paste to the pot, stirring until fragrant--it might brown slightly.
Stir in the wine, and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, water, the bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and coconut sugar (if using) and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the lentils, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta. Reserve about a cup for the cooking water. If you want a thinner sauce, add some of the cooking water to the simmering sauce. (I never need it though.) Add the drained pasta back into its cooking pot and stir in some of the sauce to coat the pasta. Serve with more sauce. Zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash would be delicious alternatives.
Garnish with fresh parsley and/or basil, and vegan or regular parmesan cheese. Keeps in the fridge for 4-5 days, frozen for 3 months, and can be easily halved.
Makes 6-8 servings. YUM!
Vegan Parmesan
1/2 cup raw cashews, frozen
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8th teaspoon garlic powder
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl of a food processor. Pulse and process until it becomes a fine powder. Store in the fridge for up to a month.
Makes about 3/4 cup.