An all veg savoury sauce that's super versatile if you adjust. Think pasta, pies and savoury bakes.
Makes 6-8 servings (depending on what you use it for)
2-3 TBSP cold-pressed rapeseed oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1-2 sticks celery
1 decent sized carrot
1 large white onion
A couple of handfuls of mushrooms
80g red lentils
100g green/puy lentils
1L water
A few sprigs thyme
A couple of bay leaves
A pinch of chilli flakes
1-2 TBSP balsamic vinegar (a good thick syrupy one ideally)
2-3 cloves garlic
A few peppercorns
Preheat the oven to 200C
Prep the veg for the sauce - peel and dice the carrot and onion, dice the celery. Set aside. Separately finely dice the mushrooms and set aside. Keep all the trimmings and off cuts.
Place the trimmings in a roasting tray lined with parchment. Toss in a little oil and roast for 15 minutes to caramelise a little.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan, fry the diced mushrooms on a high heat in a little oil and salt until just cooked but nicely golden/scorched. Set mushrooms aside. Deglaze the pan with some water, and as long as it doesn't taste burnt, scrape it out and save the liquid for the sauce.
Next, heat 1-2 TBSP of oil in a saucepan over a low-med heat. Add the carrot/onion/celery and sweat gently for 10-15 minutes until translucent and softened, stirring regularly to make sure they cook evenly.
Grate 2 cloves of garlic and finely chop the leaves off a few sprigs of thyme. Set aside.
Once the oven veg are starting to caramelise, transfer to a saucepan, add some thyme, bay, peppercorns and garlic, then pour over around a litre of water. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. The stock should just about be ready by the time you need to add it to the pot.
Once the saucepan veg have sweated enough, add the grated/crushed garlic and thyme, chilli flakes and a bay leaf (or two if fresh). Stir and cook for 30 seconds.
Next add the mushrooms and lentils, stir through, then add a dash of balsamic, cook that off briefly and add the chopped tomatoes.
Strain the stock into the saucepan. Now you just need to gently simmer the sauce until the lentils are cooked and it has the right consistency. Lower and slower is better but you can do it in about 30-40 minutes at a push. I normally leave mine for about an hour.
Top up with water as needed, just being careful not to add too much later in the cooking process (or you'll have to wait a little longer still!)—more details on this in the video.
Once ready you can had with pasta or in a lasagne, or as a vegan pie base (you may want to add other veg or use just stock instead of tomatoes for a pie).
Tastes better the next day of course! I like to make a big batch and freeze it.
