Good morning, meatless Monday! This is an adaption of typical Italian dishes like thick, protein-rich ragu and creamy polenta for vegans. For small appetizers, bake leftover polenta slices and top with any ragu that is still on hand.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Additional Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup dry lentils
- 1 cup texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 medium carrot, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 fresh hot pepper, minced (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ cup vegan red wine
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Italian coarse-ground polenta cornmeal
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter
- ¼ cup shredded vegan white cheese
Instructions
- Combine boiling water and lentils in a bowl and set aside for 1 hour. Combine texturized vegetable protein and broth in a separate bowl and set aside until liquid is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a stew pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, and hot pepper. Cook and stir until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add drained lentils and undrained texturized vegetable protein. Stir and add oregano and bay leaf. Add red wine and continue stirring, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Stir and simmer ragu until thickened and lentils are soft, 5 to 10 minutes; add a bit more water if needed.
- Bring vegetable broth, water, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle polenta into the water, stirring constantly to ensure there are no lumps. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add vegan butter, stirring constantly.
- Distribute polenta evenly among 4 pasta bowls. Remove bay leaf from ragu and discard. Top each bowl with equal amounts of ragu. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon vegan white cheese over each bowl and serve warm.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 715 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 77 g |
| Cholesterol | 3 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 23 g |
| Protein | 44 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 1981 mg |
| Sugars | 11 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |