Posted on November 07, 2017 by Kate Halsall

I’ve got to say a massive thank you Jo Stepaniak (low-Fodmap and Vegan) for this lentil bolognese recipe! Whilst I’m currently finding it hard to recognise anything tomato and aubergine based as not being a form of Ratatouille; I had to give this Aubergine, Spinach and Lentil Bolognese recipe a go because it doesn’t contain courgette or peppers! I made a couple of changes to the original recipe simply because I didn’t have all the dried herbs it wanted and I also didn’t have any passata in the house.

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 2 tablspoons olive oil
  • 1 large aubergine, cut into cubes (the original recipe said to peel the aubergine, but to me that’s simply sacrilege!)
  • 2 tespoons dried herbs – I used what little oregano I had in the cupboard
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup dried red lentils
  • 80g spinach
  • Handful of olives (I added these for flavour)
  • Chilli flakes (optional)
  • 6 tablspoons toasted pine Nnuts

How you put it together!

  1. Heat the oil in a pan with the herbs and chilli flakes. Add the cubed aubergine and stir fry for 10 minutes
  2. Add the chopped tomatoes, olives and lentils. Bring up to simmer and reduce heat
  3. You’re cooking the sauce until it thickens and the lentils are fully cooked – you may need to add a bit of water from time to time. Just as the sauce gets thick, add the spinach and cook for a couple more minutes.
  4. Toast the pine nuts
  5. Add the sauce to your accompaniment of choice – if you’re keeping this low fodmap then it’ll be rice, roasted veg or courgetti (those pesky courgettes made their way in again!). Sprinkle the pine nuts on top.

Altogether this took about 25 minutes to cook. It still looks like ratatouille – but it definitely doesn’t taste like it! I had mine with rice, but wished I’d had it as a sauce for roasted veg if I’m honest!

Remember this lentil bolognese recipe makes 4 servings so don’t eat it all in one go!