Discover how delicious healthy food can taste!
This is a humble dish—but so satisfying. Lentils deliver an incredibly rich flavor to a simple pasta sauce. Small French green lentils, which can be found in the bulk sections of natural food stores, are more delicate than Spanish brown lentils (the typical lentils found in supermarkets) and cook faster. As most of the ingredients in this recipe are panty staples, you can put the dish together on nights when you haven’t had a chance to shop for fresh ingredients. I chose a curly pasta shape for this sauce because the lentils nestle in the grooves of the pasta.
WHOLE-WHEAT FUSILLI WITH LENTIL BOLOGNESE SAUCE
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onions (1 medium Spanish)
1 cup diced peeled carrots (2 medium)
4 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves or herbes de Provence
2/3 cup small French green lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
12 ounces whole-wheat fusilli or rotini pasta
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and carrots; cook, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme (or herbes de Provence) and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, lentils and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil for cooking pasta.
3. After lentils have simmered 15 minutes, add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Return to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley, butter (or olive oil), salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.
4. About 10 minutes before lentils are done, cook pasta in boiling water until just tender but firm, 8 to 10 minutes, or according to package directions. Drain and place in large warm bowl. Toss with lentil sauce. Serve with Parmesan.
Yield: 6 (1 1/3-cup) servings.
Per serving: 400 calories, 17 g protein, 66 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 8 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium.
Recipe by Patsy Jamieson
INGREDIENTS
PREPARATION
