Lentil walnut spaghetti

This lentil walnut spaghetti recipe is an adaptation of one over at Oh She Glows. We’ve been in a bit of a pasta rut for the last while—sticking to a few favourites only—and this is a welcome addition to the dinner rotation.

If you have salsa in the fridge and cooked lentils and sun-dried tomato pesto in the freezer, this is very quick and easy. If you don’t, it will take quite a lot of effort to pull it together.

Lentil walnut spaghetti

Ingredients

• pasta of your choice (I like whole wheat spaghetti for this sauce)
• 2 red peppers
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 large cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2/3 cup cooked french lentils
• 1/4 cup of sun-dried tomato pesto
• 1 cup juicy tomato salsa
• 1 tablespoon (6 large leaves) chopped fresh basil
• 2 large handfuls of baby spinach or other greens

Method

1. If you haven’t got some in the freezer, cook your lentils. Make extra and freeze for next time.
2. Roast your red peppers. I cut mine in half, remove the seeds, place them cut side down on a tray and broil them on high until they are completely black on top. Let them cool, and then peel the skin off.
3. Boil some water and get your pasta cooking.
4. While your pasta is cooking, toast your walnuts however you please. We always have ground walnuts in the fridge, so I just tip them into our cast iron pan and let them get fragrant. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
5. Heat the oil in the same pan (no need to clean it), and then add garlic.
6. When the garlic starts to get fragrant, add all of the remaining ingredients except the spinach to the pan.
7. Mix it all up well and let it cook on medium-low for about 10 minutes.
8. Put the spinach into the colander that you will use to drain your pasta.
9. When your pasta is ready, pour it into the colander, over the spinach.
10. Serve the pasta with the spinach and sauce over the top.

Tags: Vegan