Fuel My Friday: Hopkin's Lentil Bolognese

1 May 2020

Looking for a healthy dish to help you on your way to five a day? Anna Hopkin shares a recipe perfect for any celebration that brings the whole family around the table.

With time as a student-athlete in America coming to an abrupt end due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Anna's currently now back at home with family and recently spoke to us about how she's conducting a virtual introduction into her new base at the Loughborough National Centre, before being set to make the full transition post lockdown.

The sprint freestyler also celebrated her birthday last week, and is treating us to #FuelMyFriday recipe perfect for when the whole family is around the table. 

Over to you Anna...

It was definitely a different sort of birthday to usual last week, but it was actually quite nice to spend it at home with family and enjoy some good food together. This Lentil Bolognese dish is great vegetarian dish for when there's a few to mouths feed, and any extra will always keep in the fridge (for 2-3 days) or freezer (3months) to enjoy later.

Ingredients (serves up to six)

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions
  • 3 carrots
  • 3 celery sticks
  • 3 garlic crushed cloves
  • 500g bag dried red lentils
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp each dried oregano and thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1l vegetable stock
  • 500g spaghetti
  • Grated parmesan

Method:

  1. Finely chop the onions, carrots and celery and add with the garlic into a large pan in which you've heated the oil. Cook gently, giving an occasional stir for 15-20 mins until everything is softened. 
  2. Next stir in the lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, herbs and stock. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 40-50 mins until the lentils are tender and saucy. Splash in water if you need to thin the sauce and season.
  3. If eating straight away, keep on a low heat while you cook the spaghetti, following pack instructions. Drain well and then plate up, spooning sauce over the top and finishing with some grated cheese. Enjoy!