Lentil Bolognese

This recipe was submitted on June 10th by blondek8

I made this last night and even my red meat and potatoes-eating husband liked it. I LOVED it. It made lots and I had leftovers for lunch today. You can make it vegan and/or gluten-free by removing the milk and/or substituting the whole wheat pasta for brown rice pasta. I didn't use the fennel or the white wine vinegar -- didn't have either of those kicking around. I used apple cider vinegar instead -- haha. Lentil Bolognese INGREDIENTS: 2 tsp olive oil 1 medium onion, diced small ( 1 cup) 1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small (1 cup) 2 small celery stalks, diced small (1/2 cup) 1 small fennel bulb, diced small (1 ½ cups) 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 1 cup green lentils 2 tsp dried oregano 2 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp dried basil 8 oz. wide whole-wheat pasta noodles such as linguine, fettucini, tagliatelle or rigatoni ½ cup low-fat milk ¼ tsp sea salt ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper  INSTRUCTIONS: ONE: In a large Dutch oven or saucepot, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion, carrot, celery, fennel and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until released water evaporates and brown bits begin to form on bottom of pot, about 15 minutes. Add vinegar and scrape any brown bits from bottom of pot as liquid evaporates. Stir in broth, 1 cup water, lentils, tomatoes, oregano, parsley and basil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. TWO: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and set aside. THREE: Add milk to bolognese and continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta among 4 bowls and top each with about 1 ½ cups of bolognese.