Lentil Bolognaise From 'Eat: The Little Book of Fast Food'

An earthy, sweet, tangy flavor belies the homely simplicity of this lentil bolognaise recipe. [Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin]

Alright, I'll tell you upfront that this ain't pretty, in the conventional sense; I doubt I'll be seeing it on anybody's Instagram feed. But Nigel Slater's lentil bolognaise from his newest cookbook, Eat, makes up for its deficit in the looks department with earthy, sweet, tangy flavor that belies its homely simplicity. Now, I'm not entirely sure about calling it a 'bolognaise.' It's a stew of lentils cooked with carrots and onion and finished with a little crème fraîche and balsamic vinegar. While there is something about the sweetness and the subtle kick from the vinegar that could possibly harken to the tomato-based sauce with which we're all familiar, the similarity is far from overt. That said, I really liked this as a pasta sauce! It hit the right notes, and felt so, so nourishing and rib-sticking.

Why I picked this recipe: The addition of crème fraîche and balsamic sounded like an unusual, lovely addition to basic lentils.

What worked: I loved it! The slow cooking of the onions and carrots before the addition of the lentils enhanced their sweetness, which worked beautifully with the crème fraîche and balsamic and gave the sauce so much more depth than it would otherwise have.

What didn't: The sauce ended up quite thick, and would have turned extremely gloppy as it sat, but ...

Suggested tweaks: ...I added a couple ladles of the pasta water to help thin it out, and it was fine. This was delicious as is, but I think you could have some fun with additions, too. Next time, I'll probably add some mushrooms and herbs, and grate Parmesan on top for extra salty funk.

Thanks to our ever-generous friends at Ten Speed Press, we have 5 copies of Eat to give away this week.