Vegan Polenta With Ragu - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Ragu:
2 cups boiling water
1 cup dry lentils
1 cup texturized vegetable protein (TVP)
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 fresh hot pepper, minced (optional)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup vegan red wine
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Polenta:
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Italian coarse-ground polenta cornmeal
4 tablespoons vegan butter
1/4 cup shredded vegan white cheese

Preparation

Combine boiling water and lentils in a bowl and set aside for 1 hour. Combine texturized vegetable protein and broth in a separate bowl and set aside until liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a stew pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, red bell pepper, and hot pepper. Cook and stir until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add drained lentils and undrained texturized vegetable protein. Stir and add oregano and bay leaf. Add red wine and continue stirring, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes. Stir and simmer ragu until thickened and lentils are soft, 5 to 10 minutes; add a bit more water if needed.
Bring vegetable broth, water, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle polenta into the water, stirring constantly to ensure there are no lumps. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add vegan butter, stirring constantly.
Distribute polenta evenly among 4 pasta bowls. Remove bay leaf from ragu and discard. Top each bowl with equal amounts of ragu. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon vegan white cheese over each bowl and serve warm.