Jamie Oliver's 'hearty' lentil Bolognese recipe is 'simple to prepare'

Vegetarian dishes can be tasty, nutritious and filling – especially if you recreate recipes from British chef Jamie Oliver.

"Lentils are the perfect alternative to meat in a traditional Bolognese sauce," the chef revealed.

Describing his lentil Bolognese as wonderfully "hearty", he pairs the lentils with pappardelle pasta.

"But you could use tagliatelle, penne, farfalle or any pasta shape that you prefer," Jamie Oliver added.

Here's how to recreate his lentil Bolognese recipe with the "basic soffritto ingredients of onion, celery and carrot".

Lentil Bolognese

Serves: six people

Ingredients:

280g dried brown or green lentils

Five tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

One small onion, finely chopped

One celery stalk, finely chopped

One small carrot, finely chopped

100g pumpkin flesh, finely chopped

Two garlic cloves, whole, peeled and crushed

200g chestnut button mushrooms, thinly sliced

Two bay leaves

400ml tomato passata (strained tomatoes)

900ml hot vegetable stock (or use a stock cube)

500g dried pappardelle pasta

Rustic bread, to serve (optional)

Method

Heat the olive oil in a pan, then sweat the onion, celery, carrot, pumpkin and garlic on a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Stir in the rinsed lentils, mushrooms and bay leaves and cook for a around two minutes.

Add the passata and stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and gently simmer for about one hour, until the lentils are cooked.

Near the end of the cooking time, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente.

Using tongs, transfer the pasta to the lentil ragu, mixing well. Remove from the heat and serve with bread, a drizzle of olive oil and some chilli flakes.