Vegetarian in Boston

Craving something savory tonight, I pull out gluten-free linguine, French brown lentils and drive into the late March sunlight peppered with red maple buds to get fresh veggies from Market Basket. A bunch of barely sautéed kale and colorful peppers give this oldie but goodie pantry-friendly freshness.

All it takes is a box of linguine, a cup of mushrooms, a cup of mixed peppers and a cup of kale, some garlic, brown lentils, marinara and canned tomatoes, and perhaps some herbs, salt, olive oil and pepper. More below. Bon appetit!

Vegan kale, pepper and mushroom bolognese with lentils

Ingredients for 6 hungry people (halve the recipe if you’re not that many, or that hungry)

1 cup brown lentils

2 can of diced tomatoes

1 jar marinara sauce of your choice

1 shallot, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 cup rainbow peppers, sliced to your liking

1 cup kale

Italian herbs, salt and pepper

Method

1. Allow the brown lentils to cook until tender while chopping the veggies. Drain and set aside.
2. Saute the shallot, then the mushrooms, peppers, garlic and finally kale (only a minute or two) until tender but not completely lifeless. Add herbs and spices to your liking. Set a fourth of the sauted vegetables aside to garnish later.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, then the marinara sauce, and finally the lentils. Cook for a few minutes. Add parsley or basil off heat.
4. Using an immersible blender, roughly blend the ingredients, but not completely, so that the texture resembles a true bolognese sauce.
5. Quickly heat the cooked vegetables and top the sauce with them and fresh herbs. Adjust taste if needed and serve.

Photos and recipe: Anu Hoffman