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Aubergine, Lentil & Mushroom Ragu
Updated: Jul 3
This hearty vegan ragu sauce is made with lentils, aubergine and mushrooms and is simply delicious, protein-rich and healthy. Serve with your favourite pasta, courgetti noodles (aka zoodles) or even polenta or gnocchi.
True comfort food!
AUBERGINE
Also known as brinjal or eggplant, aubergines are a great vegetable to use in dishes such as this as they absorbs all the flavours from the sauce and add a 'meaty' texture to the sauce.
MUSHROOMS
The mushrooms are chopped finely before roasting in the oven to "dry" them. This process helps release access water, which gives a nice chewy almost "meaty" texture to the sauce.
I used organic chestnut mushrooms, but portobello or button mushrooms will work well too.
LENTILS
Lentils are always good to use in sauces if you want to bulk the dish. A little goes a long way and they soak up all the flavours from the sauce. Plus they happen to have many health benefits and are nutrient-dense.
Not only are they low in fat, but they are also a great plant-based protein and iron source.
I like using puy or brown lentils, but you can use red or yellow lentils too.
HOW TO MAKE THIS
The aubergine is cut into 1 cm cubes and the mushrooms are chopped into small pieces before roasting them in the oven at 200C for about 30 min.
OPTIONS FOR ROASTING
Either use one big roasting pan with both aubergine and mushrooms in the same pan, side by side, Don't mix them together though.
OR you can use two separate roasting pans.
If you are using two separate pans, maybe swap them around halfway through.
For the mushrooms I use a food processor to chop them finely. Use the pulsing button if needed.
I find it easier to do this in small batches so you don't have a situation of really small pieces at the bottom of the food processor and big pieces still on top. Smaller batches ensure a more even consistency of the mushroom piece.
If you don't have a food processor you can cut the mushrooms by hand. Make sure to cut them really small. (See my photo below).
If that is too much effort, you can of course keep them bigger but you might have to roast them for a few minutes longer as they will take longer to release all their access water.
For the aubergine I recommend not peeling them as it helps keep the shape of the pieces better.
Before roasting, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and salt & pepper. Give them a good mix.
I recommend starting the sauce halfway through the roasting time to ensure the mushrooms are cooked by the time you want to add them into the sauce. We want to add the mushrooms into the sauce when deglazing the pan with red wine so that they soak up all the flavours.
In the meantime the onions are cooked for about 10 min until cooked and golden.
Garlic and tomato paste are added and cooked for a few more minutes before adding the roasted mushrooms and deglazing the pot with red wine.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO USE WINE
If you don't have or want to use red wine you can omit this step, but I recommend adding it as it adds a wonderful depth of flavour and makes the sauce even more hearty.
And don't worry you will not taste the wine as the alcohol evaporates while it cooks
If you want to leave out the wine, simply add equal amount of water or stock to deglaze the pan.
Add the mushrooms and skip to step 10 - no need to cook this for another 5 minutes before adding the next ingredients,
After this step add the canned tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, cooked lentils, aubergine, vegetable stock, balsamic vinegar and cook for a few minutes before adding a splash of soy sauce.
Serve with your favourite pasta and sprinkle with fresh basil and vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast.
This recipe is great as you can add or use almost any ingredients you have, such as
Add greens such as spinach or kale
Add diced red bell pepper
Add diced carrot or celery
CAN I MAKE THIS SAUCE AHEAD OF TIME?
Definitely. This sauce is great to make ahead and tastes even better the next day.
CAN I FREEZE LEFT-OVERS?
Yes you can. Simply freeze the sauce in an airtight container. When ready to serve, let the sauce defrost and reheat on the stove.
OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
AUBGERGINE, LENTIL & MUSHROOM RAGU
This hearty, vegan ragu is made with lentils, aubergine and mushrooms and is simply delicious, protein-rich and healthy. Serve with your favourite pasta, courgetti noodles (aka zoodles), polenta or gnocchi.
Serves 4
Time 45 - 50 min
INGREDIENTS
200g mushrooms, I used chestnut mushrooms
1 medium aubergine, about (280g)
250g cooked lentils
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 - 2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
1/4 cup red wine or more
1 x (400g) canned tomatoes
200ml vegetable stock
3 - 4 sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt & black pepper to taste
TO SERVE
courgetti/ spiralized courgette or pasta of choice
fresh basil leaves
nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 200C
Chop the aubergine in 1 cm cubes and transfer to a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper and give a good mix and spread out evenly.
In a food processes chop the mushrooms (in batches) into fine pieces.
Transfer to the mushrooms into a roasting tray, drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with a bit of salt. Give a good mix and spread out evenly
Roast both for 25 - 30 min, stirring halfway. The aubergine should be golden and the mushrooms "dry". The mushrooms will reduce in size quite a lot during the roasting processes as they release access water.
Once cooked, remove from the oven and set aside until needed.
In the meantime, after 15 minutes of the roasting time start with the sauce.
In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil on low for 10 min or until cooked and golden. Stir occasionally.
Add the garlic, smoked paprika and tomato paste and cook for another 1 -2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the red wine and the mushrooms and cook for 5 minute on medium heat to cook away the alcohol.
Add the cooked lentils, canned tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, vegetable stock, aubergine, balsamic vinegar and simmer for 10 - 12 minutes, without a lid to reduce the sauce a bit.
Before serving, add the soy sauce (if using) taste the sauce and add seasoning as needed.
Serve with courgetti noodles or your favourite pasta and fresh basil
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