Whenever I need a comforting yet filling pasta dish, this recipe is my savior. I came up with it when I was in a rush but needed something satiating and comforting. The lentils steal the spotlight as it’s their fiber and protein that make this a balanced and satiating meal. However, the velvetiness and richness of this ragu come mostly from the walnuts and sun-dried tomatoes. These ingredients are all pantry staples which make this vegan ragu pasta all the more convenient.
As for the topping, though simple, it makes such a big difference. The freshness from the parsley and raw red onions cut through the richness of the sauce so well. In fact, this topping would taste great on any red sauce pasta. Another reason to love this dish is that it’s meal prep friendly. When stored properly, it can last 3-4 days in the fridge, and it even tastes better the next day. You can also freeze the sauce separately and heat it in a pan when you’re ready to use it.
Vegan Ragu Pasta
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Serving: 3-4 portions
Ingredients
- 1 cup (around ½ dry, 80g) cooked lentils
- ½ cup (50g) walnuts
- ½ cup (50g) sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
- 200g pasta
Spices:
- 2 tsp veggie stock powder (you can use salt instead)
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp thyme
Topping:
- 1 small red onion
- small bunch of parsley
Instructions:
1. Start by cooking your lentils in a pot of boiling water with 1 tsp of the veggie stock powder. Cook this until tender and make sure it doesn’t turn mushy. Mine took 23 minutes.
2. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes into little pieces and set aside. Chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic cloves into medium size pieces and blitz them together in the food processor until chopped well but not mushy. Alternatively, you can dice these ingredients by hand.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a hefty pinch of salt. Cook the pasta until al dente, mine took around 8 minutes. Meanwhile, In a pan, add the olive oil and the sofrito (the veggie mixture). Saute until fragrant and the color changes, around 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, blitz the walnuts in the food processor. The pieces should be fine but still visible. Toss the walnuts and the chopped sundried tomatoes in the pan and saute for 1 minute. Add in the spices and the remaining 1 tsp of veggie stock and saute for another minute. Follow up with the tomato paste and saute until the color darkens, around another minute.
4. Once the pasta is ready, drain it and save the pasta water. Add 3 cups of pasta water to the pan and mix well. Add in the mustard, BBQ sauce, ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and dark soy sauce. Mix well, cover, and let it cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Make sure to stir the sauce every few minutes as it’s a thick sauce and it can stick to the bottom. Add more water if needed, the sauce shouldn’t be dry.
5. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the topping. Chop the red onion and the parsley finely, and set aside.
6. Once the sauce has deepened in color, taste for salt and make any needed adjustments. Toss the pasta in with the sauce and serve with the parsley and onion topping. I grated some walnuts on top just for garnish.
