Lentil and mushroom ragù pasta
Step 1 of 5
Rinse 100g red lentils. Chop 200g mushrooms, 120g carrots and 100g onions into 5mm pieces and mince 8g garlic. Heat 15ml olive oil in a broad pot over medium heat. Cook onion, carrot and mushrooms for 8–10 minutes until mushroom liquid evaporates; stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
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Finely chopped mushrooms and red lentils simmer into a thick sauce that catches in pasta shapes.
Ingredients
- Pasta (dry)160g
- Red lentils (dry)100g
- Mushrooms (raw)200g
- Carrots (raw)120g
- Onions (raw)100g
- Canned tomatoes (canned)400g
- Garlic (raw)8g
- Recipe water (raw)400ml
- Olive oil (raw)15ml
- Salt (dry)3g
- Black pepper (dry)1g
Method
- Rinse 100g red lentils. Chop 200g mushrooms, 120g carrots and 100g onions into 5mm pieces and mince 8g garlic. Heat 15ml olive oil in a broad pot over medium heat. Cook onion, carrot and mushrooms for 8–10 minutes until mushroom liquid evaporates; stir in garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add lentils, 400g canned tomatoes, 400ml recipe water, 3g salt and 1g black pepper. Simmer partly covered over low heat for 25–30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until lentils break down and the sauce is thick enough to cling to a spoon. If firm and dry, add hot processing water; if too loose, uncover to reduce.
- Boil about 2L processing water per two servings in a separate pot. Cook 160g pasta according to the packet until firm but no longer hard. Drain, retaining a little pasta water.
- Toss pasta and ragù over low heat for 1 minute. Add retained water a spoonful at a time if needed to coat the shapes evenly. For one-pot cooking, set the sauce aside while boiling pasta, then return it to the emptied pot.
- The displayed quantities already match your selected servings. For 1 or 2 servings, use a smaller pan and check early; keep the stated cut sizes. For 4 servings use a broad pan or uncrowded trays; for 8 split every ingredient evenly into two 4-serving batches (more if the pan or pot capacity requires it). Keep pans below 80% full and vegetables in one layer when browning. Repeat the cooking and doneness checks for each batch; elapsed time increases for sequential batches. Serve promptly. Cool any extra cooked food in shallow containers and refrigerate within two hours, or one hour above 32°C. Keep the fridge at 4°C or below. Reheat cooked leftovers evenly to 74°C, checking several places with a food thermometer. Keep raw garnishes and cold yogurt or tahini sauces separate and use them cold within their label limits.