Pumpkin lanterns have all been cleared away, spooky cupcakes have been eaten up and Halloween is over for another year – but it’s already time for the next holiday – no, not Christmas yet, but Bonfire Night!
I’m not sure how widely known the story behind the celebrations is outside of Great Britain, so for my readers further afield I’ll give a quick summary… in short, on the 5th November, 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes attempted but failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Since that day, every 5th of November Britons celebrate the survival of King James and the defeat of the plot with displays of fireworks and bonfires.
I’ve always liked the occasion, definitely much more so than Halloween anyway, and growing up I enjoyed going to a local fireworks display, waving sparklers and eating my Granny’s homemade toffee – a special Bonfire night treat!
Come November time, it’s usually pretty chilly, so it makes sense to fill your tummy with a warming meal before heading out into the cold to watch the fireworks. Today’s recipe is just the thing!
My “Hearty and Wholesome Meatless Ragù” is much more satisfying and tasty than your average pasta sauce. It’s got plenty of nutrition from the lentils, chickpeas and chunky vegetables, and the sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms add richness and extra texture.
Pasta gets a bad rap for being rather lacking in the nutrition department and it’s true that your typical white pasta, while it will fill your tummy, isn’t particularly nourishing. I’ve tried whole wheat and gluten-free pastas in the past, but they’ve left a lot to be desired taste-wise.
Fortunately, there are much better options these days and lately I’ve been really enjoying Rizopia’s brown rice pasta. It’s wholegrain and gluten-free but with no gumminess or graininess, just the regular taste and texture you’d hope for for your pasta.
Top it with my super-duper ragù and you’ve got an easy, balanced meal - definitely suitable for a weeknight and the perfect Bonfire night supper.
If you don’t fancy pasta, this ragù would also be nice over a baked potato or mash, or simply with a chunk of good-quality bread on the side.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1/2 Onion, chopped
- 1 Carrot, chopped small
- 1 Stalk of celery, chopped small
- 2 Cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Fresh thyme
- Approx 175g/6oz Mushrooms, chopped
- 6 Sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 C Red wine OR Vegetable broth
- 1/2 400g/14oz Can Chopped tomatoes
- 3/4 C Cooked lentils
- 3/4 C Cooked chickpeas
- Salt and pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Warm the olive oil in a medium-large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring for approx 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a further minute.
- Add the mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and cook for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Add the vegetable broth and tomatoes, turn up the heat and then allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add the lentils, chickpeas and plenty of salt and pepper and simmer for 5 more minutes until the beans are warmed through.
- Serve over pasta, mashed or baked potatoes or with crusty bread.
UK readers, will you be heading out to watch any fireworks? Readers beyond, do you know about Bonfire night?!
If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere! I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + and Twitter! You can also follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.
[Disclosure: Rizopia send me some free samples of their gluten-free pasta to try but I was under no obligation to write about it, and, as always, all opinions are my own]
It is a testament to the British sense of humour that you celebrate someone trying to blow up parliament with fireworks. I like the idea of a bonfire night - though my memory of it in the UK is hearing fireworks about us for weeks before. When I was young we had bonfires and they were fantastic - not sure if it is because it was in the country or because of health and safety these days that I rarely hear of bonfires now. I miss them.
Your ragu sounds great - it is such a good way to enjoy pasta because it seems to get the balance right with lots of veg and legumes rather than just lots of starch
This looks lovely Emma! I really wanted to get into Bonfire Night but our local area had fireworks on Saturday and I wasn’t really in the mood to go out in the cold to watch them ahead of the ‘proper’ day. I’m sure I’ll hear (and maybe see) other displays around this evening though
YUM! I love how hearty this looks, definitely a warming and delicious dish!
I used to live in London (Syndey based since 1 month now!) and used to love going out for fireworks on Bonfire night! Brockwell Park and Primrose Hill were my two favourite spots!
{Teffy’s Perks} X
i LOVE the look of this ragu! it has so many of my favorite elements and is super chunky. YUMMY.
Super chunky was what I was after! I’m not into watery tomato sauce on my pasta…
This looks mouthwatering delicious Emma! All ingredients that I love too (except we can’t do mushrooms). I absolutely LOVE pasta..it is so filling and comforting. I only use brown rice pasta as well, it is still sturdy to hold up and doesn’t have a nasty taste to it like so many gluten-free pastas out there. Love the addition of both chickpeas and lentils. Hearty and full of protein!
Brown rice pasta is definitely the way to go! Glad you like the look of the ragu too. All together it makes a really tasty and filling dinner.
Mmm, I agree, this looks perfect for a cold day like today. I think I’m used to whole wheat pasta so I don’t notice much graininess or anything like that, but now I really want to try the rice pasta too. I hope you have a great night!
Definitely give brown rice pasta a go - it’s kind of like white pasta in taste but much more nutritious!
girl! This is my kind of pasta dish. Love everything you’ve got going on here!
Thanks Andrea - It was a great meal. Definitely trying the ragu over mashed potatoes some time soon too.
I’ve never heard of Bonfire night before, so thank you for the story. I’m definitely going to try this, but will need to find a sub for the tomatoes. I recently tried a wonderful rice/quinoa blend GF pasta from Trader Joe’s here in the states. It was perfect.
Rice/Quinoa pasta sounds fantastic. Hope you enjoy the ragu. Can you not do tomatoes at all? The sun-dried tomatoes are particularly good in this.
Ach I totally missed this post before Bonfire Night, ragu would have been such a great meal to have on the night! As it was, I just had bread and soup.
Bonfire Night is somethin’ special in Scotland! I went to a massive bonfire and fireworks display in Bridge of Allan, there was a huge crowd and the Red Hot Chili Pipers were playing. Definitely a great evening
That sounds like such a fun Bonfire Night! How cool to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers along with fireworks AND a bonfire! Bread and soup is always a winner in my book anyway.
Wow, this looks amazing!! I love all the protein you threw in! I’ll have to give it a try!
Thanks Ariana - I like my meals to be reasonably balanced so a plate of pasta with no solid protein source doesn’t really cut it for me.
This looks so delicious! What a wonderful idea for a meatless meal…thanks for sharing!
Thank you Jodee - it’s a nice versatile dish too!
Oh yes - my kind of fall comfort meal!
I love those kinds of meals which are comforting but still healthy!
I hate fireworks. On the list of things to invent in the future (along with dissolvable staples, and something to wash quinoa in without it falling through the holes) is silent fireworks. They’re so pretty, but way to loud!
That’s definitely my kind of comfort food Emma, it looks perfect for Bonfire Night! We didn’t go out this year, we just enjoyed the view of the firework displays from our windows (in the warm). My Gran didn’t ever make toffee but she used to buy it from a shop. I remember it always used to stick together in huge toffee lumps as well as to the paper bags so you would get paper mixed in with the toffee, that’s something I haven’t thought about in a while! Did she make the really dark treacle toffee?
This looks so inviting! I’d definitely try it on a baked sweet potato
Thanks Sara. I haven’t tried it over a sweet potato yet but it’s only a matter of time - I love sweet potatoes with nearly everything!