BOLOGNESE

Place the beef in a large saucepan and cook it over medium heat. As it cooks, use a spoon or spatula to crumble the beef into small pieces. Sprinkle salt over the beef and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until the beef is lightly browned. Once done, transfer the cooked beef to a plate.

Heat the oil in the same saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, carrot, and zucchini. Cook these vegetables for 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Then, add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for an additional 1 minute, until the garlic is fragrant.

Add the lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, milk, wine (or broth), black pepper, pepper flakes, and water to the saucepan. Cover the saucepan and let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

While the sauce is simmering, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook it according to the instructions on the package. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander and drizzle a little oil over it to prevent the pasta from sticking together.

Add the cooked beef back to the saucepan with the lentils and vegetables. If you find the sauce too thick, you can add more water to thin it out as desired.

To serve, divide the cooked spaghetti among serving dishes. Ladle the Bolognese sauce over the spaghetti and top it with Parmesan cheese and parsley.