Prep time: 25 minutes | Cook time: 1 hour | Serves: 6 (makes 5 ¾ cups ragu)

*For all vegetables below, you have the option to finely chop by hand or rough chop and add to a food processor — whatever sounds best to you!

INGREDIENTS

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
4 to 5 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms, cleaned and finely chopped
8-ounces red beets, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater (1 ¾ cup)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme sprigs
1 cup black lentils, rinsed
½ cup dry red wine
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
1/3 to 1/2 cup whole milk and/or 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
12-ounces to 1-pound dried or fresh paccheri or rigatoni pasta
Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated to garnish
Basil leaves, to garnish
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the chopped vegetable mixture plus the grated beets, season with salt, and allow the vegetables to sweat for 12 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally. You are looking for the vegetables to dry out but not get brown — they will look paste-like with no pools of released liquid.

Add the tomato paste and allow to cook for 2 minutes or so until deep red in color and caramelized. Stir to coat in the vegetable mixture. Add the garlic, thyme, and black lentils, and cook for another 2 minutes to sweat the garlic and lightly toast the lentils.

Deglaze the pot with the red wine, bring to a simmer and allow to reduce to concentrate all the flavor goodness. Then add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock. Season with salt again. Bring to a simmer then partially cover the pot and allow to simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are al dente and the sauce has thickened. A ragu is thicker than many tomato sauces, more like a rich gravy.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the paccheri and cook 1-2 minutes shy of the package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid before draining when the pasta is nicely al dente.

When the ragu is finished, feel free to add the milk and/or butter if you want to add some creaminess to your sauce (optional but traditional). Put the cooked pasta back into its now empty cooking pot over low heat and toss it into the ragu with a splash of pasta water to help the sauce cling to the pasta. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen.

Serve in shallow bowls garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil. Sauce stores well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freezer up to 2 months.