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Pappardelle with Bolognese is a classic first course of Italian cuisine, typical of the region of Emilia Romagna. This vegan version is not very far from the traditional one, in fact, the only change is that the bolognese is made with red lentils (which replace the ground meat) and that the pappardelle are made without eggs.
The end result is a mouthwatering dish that everyone will love!
Before you jump into the kitchen to prepare this dish I suggest you read this blog-post carefully. In fact, the recipe is simple but there are a few details to keep in mind when making it.
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Ingredients
To make this recipe you only need a handful of ingredients, many of which I'm sure you'll already have in your kitchen.
Let's look now at what you'll need to make the red lentil bolognese:
- red lentils
- canned peeled tomatoes
- carrot
- celery
- red or white wine
- tomato paste
- onion
- olive oil
- soy milk (optional)
To make the vegan pappardelle you will only need the following three ingredients:
- all-purpose flour (with a protein content around 13%)
- saffron or turmeric powder (for the color)
- water
Lentil Bolognese
To make pappardelle Bolognese, we start by preparing the sauce.
The base of the bolognese sauce is made of sautéed onion, carrot and celery which are browned in a pan until golden and soft. To these is then added the tomato paste, red wine and finally the canned peeled tomatoes.
The sauce is then cooked for an hour until it becomes thick and glossy.
If you would like to see the step by step recipe for lentil bolognese you can click here and take a look at the recipe.
How to make pappardelle
Pappardelle (from the Tuscan word pappare) are a type of pasta, similar to tagliatelle but much wider, about 13 mm.
Normally this type of pasta is made using flour, eggs and water. In our case, we will use only flour and water (to which we will add some saffron for the color).
Below I will explain step by step how to make pappardelle.
Step 1: Make the dough
To make pappardelle we start by arranging the flour in a volcano shape. Then little by little we start adding the water to the "crater" and using a fork we whisk the liquid into the flour, working from the center outwards.
Then, when the dough is too stiff to mix with a fork, we start using our hands or a spatula to bring it all together and knead it.
Once fully kneaded, the dough should look smooth and elastic. Once the dough looks similar to the one shown in the photo below you're done.
Step 2: Roll it out
Once the dough is elastic and free from lumps we can roll it out using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine.
In order to make sure the dough does not stick I suggest using rice flour to dust the dough.
The important thing is to make sheets 20 cm long and 2 mm thick.
Once the sheets of dough are formed, we roll them up on both sides (as shown in the photo below).
Step 3: Form the pappardelle
Finally, we cut the dough to create pappardelle with a width of more or less 13 mm (as shown below).
Once the pappardelle are cut, we can unroll them and place them on a clean dish towel to dry until the bolognese is ready.
Pappardelle with Bolognese
Once the bolognese is ready we can cook the pappardelle.
We bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, we add the pappardelle and cook them for 1 minute. Then we drain them keeping half a cup of cooking water aside.
Next we add the pappardelle and cooking water to the bolognese and mix well. Finally we can serve the pappardelle with some vegan cheese and some fresh basil leaves.
How to store pappardelle with bolognese
You can store pappardelle with bolognese in the fridge. Place them in an air-tight container and store in the fridge up to 3-4 days.
To reheat, place in a saucepan and cook for a couple of minutes until warm or set in the preheated oven (180 °C, 360 °F) for 15 min.
More recipes you may like:
- Sesame crusted Mushroom Pie
- Vegan Chickpea Nuggets
- The Ultimate Vegan Wellington
- Vegan Chickpea Cutlets
If you try this pappardelle with bolognese….
Please let me know! Leave a comment, rate the recipe and don't forget to tag a photo with #carlocao or #vegaliciously on Instagram or Tiktok.
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📖 Recipe/Rezept
Pappardelle with Bolognese made with Red Lentils
Ingredients
Bolognese
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 celery stick finely chopped
- 1 small carrot finaley chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 250 g red lentils ((9 oz))
- 200 ml red wine ((⅘ cup))
- 800 g canned peeled tomatoes ((28 oz))
- salt and pepper to taste
- 200 ml soy milk optional ((⅘ cup))
Pappardelle
- 500 g all-purpose flour with at 13% protein ((18 oz))
- 250 ml water (( 1 cup))
- 1 pinch saffron or turmeric
- rice flour to dust
Instructions
Bolognese
- Heat oil over medium to high heat.
- Stir in onion, carrot and celery and brown for 7-8 minutes. Sir constantly.
- Add in tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add in lentils and sautè for 2 ore minutes on high heat.
- Pour in wine and simmer until completely evaporated.
- Pour in canned tomatoes and using a spatula break them up in chunks.
- Adjust salt and pepper and mix until combined.
- Simmer on low heat, with the lid on, for about 1 hour. Stir every now and then and add a dash of water if needed.
- Once cooked, pour in soy milk and stir. The Bolognese is ready once the lentils are tender and the sauce is thick and creamy.
Pappardelle
- Arrange your flour in a volcano shape.
- Mix water and saffron, then add the liquid to the "crater". Whisk slowly from the center outwards. Then, when the dough is stiff, start using your hands to knead the dough.
- Knead until smooth and elastic.
- Cut the dough in 4 parts and using a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll out the dough into 20 cm long and 2 mm thick pasta sheets. Dust the dough with rice flour to prevent it from sticking.
- Roll the pasta sheets as shown in the picture below.
- Cut into 13 mm wide pappardelle and unroll them.
- Set onto a clean kitchen towel.
- Once the blognese is ready, cook the pappardelle in salted boiling water for 1 minute.
- Set half a cup of cooking water aside, drain the pappardelle. Add cooking water and pappardelle to the bolognese, mix and serve straight away.
Steven says
I made the bolognese, but not the pappardelle. The bolognese is delicious and my wife who is not vegan loved it. I used an oatmilk instead of almond milk.
Debbie says
Yummy! Too lazy to make the pasta but the sauce was out of this world! I used leftover sauce and made sloppy joes with it. 5 out of 5 for taste and ease of recipe and sourcing ingredients. Thanks Carlo