Ferry Boat Spaghetti With Spiced Lentils

This meatless version of a classic Greek pasta dish has a few surprising but delicious spices.

An unexpected combination of spices, most notably cinnamon, gives this healthy pasta dish a warming flavor. Vasilis Stenos

Lentils stand in for ground meat in Diane Kochilas’s vegan version of the classic Greek pasta dish makaronia me kima—more prosaically called vaporisia makaronia, or ferry boat pasta.

“The spices and flavorings are the same as in the classic version, especially the telltale use of cinnamon,” she writes in “The Ikaria Way.” “It makes for a hearty, warming pasta dish that’s easy, healthy, and inexpensive to prepare.”

There are many varieties of lentils native to the Mediterranean. Some still grow wild on Ikaria, the Greek island where Ms. Kochilas spends much of her time. The humble pulse is “a nutritional powerhouse, packed with protein and fiber as well as potassium, iron, and other vitamins,” she writes.

Serves 4

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin Greek olive oil
• 1 large yellow or red onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups small brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 cups crushed canned tomatoes and their juices
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups water
• 2 large fresh or dried bay leaves
• 6 fresh or dried thyme sprigs
• 4 fresh or dried oregano sprigs
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 allspice berries
• 1 generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 pinch cayenne
• Greek sea salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 pound (450 grams) whole wheat spaghetti
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over low-to-medium heat and add all the chopped vegetables. Toss to coat in the olive oil. Stir in the garlic. Add the lentils and stir. Add the tomato paste and mix it in to distribute evenly. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and let everything cook for 5 minutes.

Add crushed tomatoes to the pot. Raise the heat to medium and bring the lentils to a simmer, then add the wine. Bring that to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes to boil off the alcohol. Add enough water to come about 1/2 inch or so above the lentils. Add the bay leaves, thyme and oregano sprigs, cinnamon, allspice berries, nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, about 1 hour. Add more water as necessary.

Stir in the balsamic vinegar for about 10 minutes before removing from heat.

While the lentils are simmering, prepare the spaghetti according to package directions and time it so that the spaghetti is hot and ready when the sauce is cooked. Serve the lentil sauce over the spaghetti and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Note: You can grate a little cashew milk cheese over the top and get some of the crunch and fat feel that cheese provides with nuts. I’d be inclined to chop hazelnuts or unsalted cashews and toast them lightly before sprinkling over the lentils and spaghetti.

Recipe from “The Ikaria Way,” by Diane Kochilas. Copyright 2024 by the author, and reprinted with permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.