Learn How to Make Veggie Lentil Marinara with Capellini

Eggplant’s peak season runs from July to October, so that will be our vegetable choice for this recipe.

If you are looking for ways to reduce your meat intake, we have a tasty dish for you. A vegetarian-friendly, healthy, and wonderfully delicious recipe that was created to be used year-round; just add your favorite seasonal vegetable. Some recommended vegetable selections are eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms. Eggplant’s peak season runs from July to October, so that will be our vegetable choice for this recipe.

Ingredients

• Celery: 3 stalks, finely diced
• Carrots: 3 roots, finely diced
• White Onion: 1 bulb, finely diced
• Garlic: 4 cloves, minced
• Seasonal Vegetable (Eggplant): 1 ½ - 2 c, peeled, diced
• Lentils: 2/3 c dried, 1 ½ c cooked
• Whole Peeled Tomatoes: 2 – 28 oz cans
• Tomato Sauce: 1 – 15 oz can
• Pasta, Capellini Or Thin Spaghetti: 1 ½ – 16 oz boxes
• Parmesan Cheese: 1 wedge
• Butter: 2 tbsp
• Olive Oil: 3 ½ tbsp
• Mushroom Broth: 2 to 3 c
• Nutritional Yeast: 1/4 c
• Garlic powder: 2 tsp
• Dried Oregano: 2 tsp
• Dried Basil: 2 tsp
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: 1 pinch
• Salt And Pepper by preference

Preparation time: 1 – 1 ½ hours

Directions

1. Add 2/3 cup of dried lentils and 2 to 3 cups of mushroom broth to a small pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Continue through steps 2-3 while the lentils are cooking. Cook lentils until tender, drain and set aside.

2. Prepare the raw vegetables. Finely dice the carrots, onion, and celery, dice the eggplant into ½-inch cubes, and mince the garlic.

3. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped vegetables, salt, and pepper to the large pot and cook until the onions become translucent.

4. Add the oregano, basil, crushed red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and diced seasonal veggies to the large pot. Cook for a few minutes until the veggies start to soften.

5. Add tomato sauce, 2 large cans of whole peeled tomatoes and seasonings to the large pot. Break the tomatoes down with a spoon or wire masher.

6. Cut the rind from the parmesan wedge and add it to the sauce. Bring to a simmer and cover for at least 20 minutes. Note: The rind of the parmesan wedge adds umami flavor. It is a key ingredient in many vegan and vegetarian soups and sauces. If you do not have a parmesan wedge or rind, you can substitute grated parmesan.

7. Prepare the Capellini pasta while the sauce is cooking (when we tested this dish, we used thin spaghetti because the Capellini was sold-out at the grocery store). Add 3 quarts of water to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add 1 ½ boxes of pasta and 1 tsp of salt. Reduce to a simmer and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Toss the pasta in 1 ½ tbsp of olive oil and 2 tsp of garlic powder, then set aside.

8. Add nutritional yeast, lentils, salt, pepper, and about 1/2c of reserved pasta water to thin the sauce (as needed). Stir thoroughly.

9. Place ¾ cup of spaghetti sauce over 1 cup of pasta and top with shredded parmesan or a soft Italian cheese like Burrata.

Bon Appetite!

Veggie Lentil Marinara with Capellini pairs well with a side of Iron Skillet Apple Crisp— see the recipe!

About the author

Corrie Fletcher is an intern with St. Mary’s Food and Nutrition Department. She has her Bachelors of Science degree in Nutrition and is currently in the Gulf Coast Dietetic Internship, which is a supervised practice program required to sit for the Registered Dietitian exam.