Mushroom and Lentil Ragu

Song suggestions:

• Nevermind - Ten Hands High

• Missing - London Grammar

Note: not all red wines are vegan. If you’re interested in finding out which ones are are which one’s aren’t, a quick tip is to read the front and back labels: if it says anywhere it’s ‘unfiltered’ or ‘unfined’ then you know it won’t contain any animal products. You can also hop on to your local supermarket’s website, type in ‘red wine’ and filter the results by ‘vegetarian/vegan’.

Ingredients:

• Pasta of choice. Traditionally, pappardelle is used (not pictured).

• 5/6 garlic cloves

• 1 large celery stick

• 1 carrot

• 1 white onion

• 1 stock cube

• 100g dried green lentils

• Roughly 200g chestnut mushrooms

• 300g tomato passata

• 175ml red wine

• 1 bay leaf

• Olive oil and salt

Recipe

1. Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery (the finer the better).

2. In a food processor, or if you have a blender with a ‘pulse’ setting, create mushroom mince by processing it to a fine consistency. Avoid processing it to complete mush, you’re looking for a fine mince.

3. Dissolve the stock cube in 1 litre of boiling water and set aside.

4. In a pan, gently sauté the onion, carrot and celery in 1.5 tbsp olive oil until soft and aromatic (low heat). This should take 3/5 minutes.

5. Add the mushroom ‘mince’, red wine and bay leaf. Mix until well combined and reduce by half (simmer without a lid on for about 10 minutes on a medium heat).

6. Add the tomato passata, green lentils, a pinch of salt and 1/2 the vegetable stock. Simmer on a medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring on occasion.

7. Add the remainder of the vegetable stock and simmer for a further 30 mins.

8. Boil your pasta when there's 10 minutes left.

9. Serve mixed with pasta and with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan (mix 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, pinch of salt).

What to do with any leftovers:

• Stuff some peppers with this filling and roast them

• Freeze it and save it for another time

• Make some mashed potatoes and use this filling to make a pie

Note: if you need to skip the red wine, make up the liquid using something like pomegranate or cranberry juice (unsweetened). If you choose to use the wine, which is highly advised where possible, try and use a red wine that’s good enough to drink.

Enjoy!

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A Bite Out of Life

This might look like an ordinary wrap… but it’s not just any wrap… it’s not an M&S wrap… but it was the best falafel wrap I’ve ever had. I went on a uni trip to Amsterdam in First Year and on my last day, walking alongside the canal, I popped into a kebab shop to grab a toasted falafel wrap. Looked very Middle Eastern, very legit, I was excitedddd! Not only did it not disappoint, it exceeded all my expectations. “What was so good about it?” I hear you ask? Well. They put chips. Inside. The wrap. But not just any chips: perfectly-crispy-on-the-outside-and-pillowy-soft-on-the-inside kind of chips. Chips like I had never experienced them before kinda chips. Not to mention, it was the size of my entire forearm?! Stunning falafel, hummus, salad and the most divine sweet chilli sauce. Honestly, Amsterdam was amazing but I’d go back to Amsterdam for this wrap alone. I even kept the receipt from this place - if anyone wants the name of the place, just holla and I’ll dig it out. Everyone needs to try a wrap this good.

enjoy food, enjoy life.