Vegetarian ? At least I'm trying with this pasta!

When I think about it, I do eat quite a bit of meat every day.  So I’ll often have a big salad for lunch (‘big salad’ – echoes of Elaine from Seinfeld, haha) in preparation of a carnivorous night-time meal. And I’m talking about chicken as well as beef or lamb.

So this is a concerted effort to eat a little less meat once in a while, though still having a satisfying main meal. I must say, too, that I still have to have some carbohydrates – that’s what really fills you up.

The lentils in this spaghetti sauce also give the dish some heft, and using a bought pasta sauce gives it even more flavour. I will admit that I bought this particular sauce because I liked the shape of the jar (it’s the new Bertolli brand tomato pasta sauce with parmesan).

Spaghetti with Lentils and Fetta

serves 2

Ingredients

2 tblsp olive oil

1 zucchini, finely sliced
1 stick celery, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
200g tomato pasta sauce
400g can brown lentils
200g spaghetti
70g fetta cheese, crumbled

Method
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the zucchini and celery and cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes until softened.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, tomato pasta sauce and 1/2 cup water. Bring to the boil and season with salt and black pepper. Turn the heat to low, simmer for 10 minutes, add the lentils and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in boiling, salted water according to packet instructions.
4. Drain the pasta, put into bowls and top with the sauce. Sprinkle with fetta and serve.

Ingredients, including zucchini, celery, pasta sauce in a pretty jar, lentils and cumin

Notice my improved knife skills in the finely diced celery.

There you have it, a very tasty vegetarian dish.

And the snowy fetta looks brilliant against the lush lentil and tomato sauce.

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