Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Lentils
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Lentils is an update of a family favorite. It's a familiar spaghetti sauce made from tomatoes and ground beef with the addition of canned lentils. The Italian herb blend brings a welcome hint of rosemary. This recipe makes enough sauce for pasta from two pounds dried. I use the half the sauce immediately with one package of spaghetti and freeze the remainder for another meal. The recipe calls for a small amount of tomato paste, which is easy if you buy tomato paste in a tube. If not, substitute ketchup or omit.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon tomato paste see note
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb blend see note
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 15 oz can lentils drained
- 1 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes
- 1 inch piece parmesan rind optional
- 1 pound dried spaghetti
- parmesan, shredded for topping as desired
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds or so.
- To the pan, add onions and carrots with a pinch of salt and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the Italian herbs, oregano, crushed red paper flakes, basil, and fennel seeds.
- Stir in the tomato paste and sauté for about 5 minutes. Frequent stirring is important to avoid scorching the tomato paste.
- Add ground beef to the pan with ½ tsp salt and continue cooking, stirring often to break up the meat, until meat is cooked through.
- Add lentils to the pan and stir well to combine, adding a small pour of additional olive oil if desired to coat the lentils.
- Add the tomatoes with their liquid. If using, add the parmesan rind. Bring to a boil while stirring and breaking up the whole tomatoes with a flat spatula. Then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Taste the sauce for seasoning, add more salt if needed.
- Boil the spaghetti in a separate pot of salted water according to the package instructions for al dente noodles.
- Continue to simmer the meat and lentil sauce until it's reduced to your liking. For me that means saucy but not watery. Keep the finished sauce hot till the spaghetti is ready. Remove and discard the parmesan rind.
- Combine half the sauce (about 2 ½ cups) with cooked and drained spaghetti (from one pound dried). Garnish with shredded parmesan for serving if desired.
- Store the remaining half of the sauce in the freezer for another meal. See note about sauce yield.
Notes
- Total yield of the meat sauce with lentils is 5 cups. This is enough to generously sauce cooked pasta from 2 pounds dried. This recipe calls for using half the prepared sauce (2.5 cups) on cooked pasta from 1 pound dried and freezing the remaining sauce (2.5 cups) for another meal.
- The recipe calls for a single Tablespoon of tomato paste which is easy if you buy tomato paste in a squeezable tube. If not, use ketchup or omit. Cooking tomato paste until it browns slightly is said to enrich the flavor of the sauce and it's a good trick to keep in mind. But this recipe works without it.
- Italian seasoning is a blend of dried herbs including marjoram, rosemary, thyme, savory, sage, oregano, and basil. I like the pop of rosemary it brings to spaghetti sauce. If you don't keep it in your pantry, substitute with an equal amount of dried Italian herbs like oregano, basil, and crushed rosemary.
- You probably already know about saving your parmesan rinds for a flavor boost in sauces and soups. If not, here's a good place to start. I keep mine well wrapped in the freezer.