Red Lentil Pasta Sauce

Last night we decided to go meatless for dinner.  I had found beautiful red lentils and Greek #2 spaghetti ( like bucatini) at the Mediterranean market near my house. The red lentils are packed with protein and become very creamy when cooked in the sauce.  I served this with some thawed frozen garlic bread topped with sauteed spinach and garlic, sprinkled with mozzarella and then baked in the oven at 400F for 10 to 15 minutes.

Sauce:
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
1 carrot , roughly chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/4 green pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 Tbl olive oil
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup dry red lentils
1  28 ounce can good Italian plum tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 - 4 cups water
1/2 cup minced parsley
5 or 6 sliced fresh basil leaves
Parmesan for garnish ( optional) 

Place the celery, carrot, onion, green pepper and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process until very fine.
In a dutch oven or soup pot saute the vegetable mixture in the olive oil until soft and fragrant.
Add the red pepper, salt , black pepper, and Italian seasoning and stir for a minute or two over the heat
Add the lentils.  Crush the tomatoes with your hands and add them along with their juice.
Add 3 cups of the water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Check after 30 minutes..If the mixture seems too thick, add another cup of water and simmer another 15 minutes or so. Simmer a few more minutes even if you don't add the extra water.
Just before serving, stir in the parsley and basil.
Serve over your favorite pasta.