Lentil Ragù - Ragù Di Lenticchie

This Ragù Di Lenticchie it's a comforting vegan dish and a great way to introduce more legumes into your diet.   
I suggest to use brown or green lentils as I found them perfect for this dish and they cook in about 40 minutes.
I have served the ragù with pasta but you can also serve it on its own with toasted bread or even with rice or cous-cous! 

Serves: 2 - 3  

Ingredients

• Extra Virgin Olive oil 
• 1 large carrot 
• 2 sticks of celery 
• 1 large brown onion 
• 1 tbsp tomato paste 
• 400g tin of crushed peeled plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
• 3 sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 large garlic clove 
• 1 sprig of rosemary 
• 1 sprig of sage 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 100ml white wine 
• 10g dry porcini mushroom 
• 200g green or brown lentils
• 200g linguine 

Method

1. In a large shallow frying pan add a generous glug of extra virgin olive oil along with the diced soffritto mix (carrot, celery and onion). Cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile finely chop the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Add them to the soffritto along with the chopped dry porcini mushroom and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute. 
3. Using some butcher's twine, prepare a small bouquet by tying together the rosemary, sage, and bay leaves. Add the wine and the herbs bouquet to the pot and let it simmer for a minute or two until slightly reduced. 
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the crushed peeled plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Add the lentils and about 600 ml of water and simmer gently for 40 - 50 minutes, allowing the flavours to meld together and the lentils to fully cook. The lentils cooking time will vary depending on which lentils you use, so add more water and cook the ragù for longer if need it. 
5. Once fully cooked, the sauce should be thick, moist and juicy. If the sauce still has a lot of liquid, continue cooking it for longer. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water to loosen it.  Discard the herbs bouquet and taste to adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. 
6. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente. Reserve a cup of pasta water before draining.
7. Add the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce and stir well. Add a drizzle of olive oil and if the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen it. Stir well again before serving. Enjoy! 

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