Slow cooker mushroom and brown lentil ragù recipe
This wonderfully tasty vegetarian pasta sauce recipe was created by Nicola Graimes, author of fabulous cookbook Healthy Vegetarian & Vegan Slow Cooker.
Nicola says: "Deep, earthy, flavourful, filling... what’s not to like about this hearty meat-free ragù? The portion size is on the generous side but, like most ragùs and sauces of this type, they almost taste better the next day, so it’s worth making a larger quantity for subsequent meals. It comes served with tagliatelle or pappardelle, but I also like the ragu with polenta."
Depending on whether you choose to cook it on low or high, the ragù can take up to seven hours to cook – so it's perfect for prepping in the morning before heading off to work. When you get home, all you'll need to do is cook the pasta!
Please note: You'll need to allow 30 minutes' soaking time for the porcini mushrooms.
Ingredients
- 30 g dried porcini mushrooms
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 380 g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 300 ml hot vegetable stock
- 150 ml red wine (or extra hot stock)
- 160 brown lentils, rinsed
- 400 g passata
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp yeast extract or brown barley miso
- 1 pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 portions of cooked tagliatelle or pappardelle pasta
- 1 handful of grated vegetarian Parmesan (optional)
- 1 handful of freshly chopped basil
Details
- Cuisine: Italian-inspired
- Recipe Type: Slow cooker
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 30 mins
- Cooking Time: 360 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Put the dried porcini mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour over enough just-boiled water to cover. Leave to rehydrate for 30 minutes. Strain the mushrooms over a bowl with a slotted spoon and squeeze out any excess liquid. Finely chop the porcini and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion, celery and carrot for 5 minutes, until starting to soften. Add the garlic, rehydrated porcini and chestnut mushrooms and cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes, until softened.
- Pour the red wine into the pan, if using. Allow to boil until reduced and there is no aroma of alcohol. Alternatively, leave this step out and increase the quantity of hot stock.
- Pour enough hot stock into the jug containing the porcini soaking liquor to make 500ml. Add to the slow cooker pot with the lentils, passata and thyme and stir until combined. Add the mushroom mixture and bay leaves. Cover and cook for 6-7 hours on low, cutting the time by an hour and a half if you turn the heat up to high. Just before the ragù is ready, stir in the yeast extract or miso. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then leave to rest for 5 minutes.
- Serve spooned over pasta, adding a ladleful of the pasta cooking water to the ragù. Top with grated Parmesan, if you like.
Recipe extracted from Healthy Vegetarian & Vegan Slow Cooker by Nicola Graimes (published by Ryland Peters & Small £16.99). Photography by Kate Whitaker.
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