LENTIL BOLOGNESE W. MUSHROOMS AND OLIVES

Original Post (05.11.2015):

Hi Guys,

Right now I’m sitting in my bed in my room in London for the very last time. The room is stripped bare and the typing sounds differently in this empty space. Tomorrow, very early in the morning I might add, Rob and I are off to Dubai. We are going to live with his parents there until Christmas, with a break in the middle when we’ll be in Mauritius . Or as I like to call it ‘paradise’! Many changes are happening at the moment as we’ve packed up our London home to find a new one but first we have this time away from Europe to enjoy. And to give us some space to ponder on what comes next.

I’m very grateful for this opportunity to reflect away from home and I hope and think it will bring some clarity to the madness that has been my thoughts the last few weeks leading up to this last evening here.

Either way I wanted to share with you this last recipe from my London home and my London kitchen. One last feast from this place that I’ve called home the last three years. The dish got very good response when I posted an image of it on Instagram and I hope you’ll all like it equally in real life. It is a simple one which can be thrown together in a jiffy, provided that you have some cooked green lentils on hand. This often happens in my home, I always have some sort of pulse or grain sitting in the fridge waiting to be added to my next meal. But if you don’t you don’t need to worry! Either cook them on the day or if you just don’t have the time/energy there’s always the canned version.

I’m sharing my very first pasta sauce here on the blog which I’ve failed to mention yet in this long post, haha. It’s my take on a bolognese with green lentils, mushrooms and olives. It was a hit with Rob when I first made it and I think it’s something I’ll be making many times in the future. The first time I made it I added millet to the sauce which actually worked really well so if you’d like to try it simply add about half a cup of cooked millet and about half a can extra of chopped tomatoes. Another idea is to add some heat to the sauce by adding some chopped up chilli or even chilli powder or cayenne pepper.

I’ve had this sauce with just about anything; quinoa, brown rice pasta and spaghetti squash are my favourite examples. All these three worked very well but get creative with your parings, I’m pretty sure this sauce could go with any wholegrain! And don’t forget your greens people, I enjoyed my last bowl with a handful of cheesy crispy kale. Enjoy!

Update:
I just posted the video at the top of this post as well as some new photographs after storing the footage since November. I’m very excited to finally be sharing this recipe in motion with you guys as it has been one of my most popular recipes here on the blog to date. The sauce has got great feedback and for this I’d like to thank you all, it is really amazing to see you make my recipes and sharing your thoughts and experiences with me. So here’s to more recipes, vegan food and sharing our thoughts!

Reading through this post from November last year I realised that this was the last recipe I posted before leaving my old home and the limbo time in between homes is coming to an end in just a few days so I guess this post can mark a full circle of this period. I’ve experienced different cultures, climates and philosophies over the last couple of years travelling around and not really having a stable base. It’s been exciting and exhausting all at once and I feel excited to settle for roughly a year in our new home in the countryside of the south of Sweden.

I’m looking forward to having the chance to be consistent with my communication here on the blog and on my youtube channel as I think this more stable environment will alow me to experiment with all the things that have been on my mind for months. Hopefully it will allow me more time and space to be creative but also to clarify my wishes for the future and to communicate more clearly to you what I’m all about. It’s an exciting, and slightly nerve wracking, time in my life and I can’t wait to share this new chapter with you guys! x

LENTIL BOLOGNESE W. MUSHROOMS AND OLIVES

PORTIONS: 3-4 portions / TIME: 25 min

1 brown onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

10 chestnut mushrooms, sliced

1 can/jar chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 cup green lentils, cooked

Heaped 1/2 cup pitted green olives, halved

1 1/2 tbsp dried basil

1 tsp bouillion powder

Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

To serve: Fresh basil, brown rice spaghetti/fettuccine or quinoa and greens on the side

Sweat the chopped onions with a pinch of sea salt in a pan with the lid on over a low/medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and sliced mushrooms and sweat for another 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms are softened but not completely without resistance.

Pour in chopped tomatoes, add tomato puree and season with basil, bouillion powder, another pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix and let heat through. Taste the sauce, find the right flavour and then add your cooked lentils and halved olives.

Again let it all heat through and cook together for 5-10 minutes. Taste and make sure it’s exactly right before taking it off the heat and mixing into brown rice pasta or serving along side quinoa or your wholegrain of choice.

Don’t forget to put your pasta/grain on in time to finish at the same time as your sauce!