Quick vegetarian pasta with Bolognese-style sauce

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• Fat or oil for frying
• 1 large onion(s)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 tbsp herbs de Provence
• 200 g lentils, red
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 800 ml water, boiling
• 500 g pasta of your choice (preferably from the refrigerated section)
• e.g. Parmesan, grated, optional
• n. B. Herbs of your choice, fresh, optional

Instructions

Working time approx. 5 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 25 minutes

simple and vegetarian

Roughly chop or dice the onion and garlic. Dissolve the stock cube in the hot water. Gather the remaining ingredients. Heat a deep frying pan or suitable pot with your choice of fat or oil over medium-high heat (especially with olive oil, do not let it smoke, as this will impair the flavor). Briefly fry the onions and garlic with a pinch of salt. As soon as the onions begin to draw water, add the tomato paste and herbs, stir in both, and fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent the garlic and herbs from burning. The tomato paste can retain some of its roasted flavor. Add the lentils and deglaze with the vegetable stock. Simmer over low heat according to the lentils’ cooking time (red lentils take about 15 minutes). If you want the sauce to be creamier or more homogenous, simply use an immersion blender and puree everything. Add the pasta as soon as the desired consistency is reached. Dried pasta needs more water than fresh pasta from the refrigerated section, so you may need to add a little more stock. Stir occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Once cooked, serve the pasta on a deep plate and garnish with Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, etc., if desired. Tips: If the sauce becomes too thick, add more stock. If the sauce is too runny, dissolve a tablespoon of flour or cornstarch in 100ml of water and stir in while the sauce is still simmering. To avoid a floury taste, let the sauce simmer for a few minutes longer. Great for using up leftovers; leftover vegetables can also be cooked in the sauce. Suitable for people who like a little more topping in their sauce. Quick recipe for a pasta sauce. As with all recipes with few ingredients, the quality of the ingredients determines the final taste. It’s already delicious with instant products, but an absolute dream with homemade stock, for example.