This is my new favorite pasta sauce that I made using herbs as spices for extra nutrition and medicinal value. It can be used on things other than pasta too, think chicken breast, roasted veggies, etc.
Yield 1 quart of Red Sauce
The base:
Start by cooking 1 cup of red lentils. Add 1 cup of dried red lentils to 2.5 cups of water with an optional .5 TBS of butter and 1/4 tsp of sea salt and simmer for 20 minutes. When your lentils have started to simmer, add in 2 TBS of dried stinging nettle and 2TBS of lemon balm. It' important that you add your herbs during the simmer not the boil so that the medicinal components of the herbs remain and do not boil away.
The Sauce:
Mix your cooked lentils while hot with 1 cup of tomato sauce, 1 TBS of butter (optional, makes for a more creamy taste), 2 TBS nutritional yeast, and 1 -2 heaping TBS of Italian Seasoning (to taste). Italian seasoning is typically a combination of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, Parsley, and garlic powder. You can make your own version of Italian seasoning added to taste or use store bought.
Why add stinging nettle and lemon balm to pasta sauce?
By adding in your own herbs, you can be sure that your sauce has medicinal value. If you use only store bought seasonings, it is likely that they have been on shelves of warehouses for years and have lost a lot of their medicine due to shelf life/storage.
Nettle is high in essential vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, and more!
Lemon Balm adds a slight lemon flavor and aids in digestion. Lemon balm also has a calming effect which makes for a nice addition to dinner time in a household full of children that you want to head to bed on time.