Lentil and Walnut Ragù

Method

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1. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 4 minutes until they smell nutty, then chop them roughly.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and cook the onion, carrot and celery over medium-low for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until sweet and beginning to colour. This is where the flavour comes from and it cannot be hurried.

   Mark done Start 20 min timer

3. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.

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4. Add the tomato purée and fry it, stirring, for 3 minutes until it darkens from red to brick.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

5. Pour in the wine and let it bubble away almost completely, scraping the base of the pot.

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6. Add the lentils, tomatoes, stock, bay, oregano, salt, pepper and the walnuts.

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7. Simmer uncovered 40 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and the sauce holds its shape on a spoon.

   Mark done Start 40 min timer

8. Stir in the balsamic off the heat, taste for salt, and fish out the bay leaves.

   Mark done

Chef’s Tips

• Twenty minutes on the soffritto. Five gives you a sauce that tastes of tinned tomato and nothing else.
• Puy lentils hold their shape; brown lentils break down and thicken the sauce. Either works, and they give quite different results.
• It is better the next day, which is true of most ragùs and truer of this one.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the usual stand-in when you are out of fresh garlic — it will not caramelise the same way, but it carries the flavour.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Pairing Suggestions

• Rigatoni or pappardelle
• A robust Sangiovese
• Grated Parmesan, to serve, if not vegan

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate up to 5 days and freeze 3 months. It thickens hard in the fridge; loosen with stock or pasta water rather than plain water.

Common questions

Nutritional Highlights

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.