I call this Bolognese a "Bang Bang Bolognese" because it's not your traditional bol. It's completely meat free, but has so much umami, on a first taste you wouldn't think that it's vegan. "BANG BANG" is a term I use when my food is either really mindblowing tasty (if i do say so myself flicks hair) or if it's something that can be made in a flash.
It's made completely from scratch, meaning there are no secret sugars or additives (it's a hell of a lot cheaper and healthier than jarred sauce) and even though you don't boil it for hours on end it's full of flavour.
This is portioned for 1 person, but if you quadruple it up, it makes a really quick and easy family favourite, especially if you want to start eating less meat.
Ingredients:
3 bunches of dry tagliatelle pasta (And a pot full of boiling water to cook it in)
1/2 finely chopped Red Onion
1/4 finely chopped Celery
1/4 finely chopped Large Carrot
1 finely chopped Cloves of Garlic
1 small tin of chopped Tomatoes
A couple sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup Red Wine
2 tsp Tomato Puree
1 Bay Leaf
A couple sprigs of thyme
A few leaves of fresh Oregano (finely chop it!)
A few leaves of fresh Basil (finely chop it and spare some leaves for garnishing)
The essentials; Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper
NOTE: Most dry pasta's in British supermarkets are vegan, only containing Durum Wheat Semolina.
I also understand that most people don't have a herb garden to hand like I do (MamaCal's garden has herbs all year round).
Dry herbs will do just as good, but you may have to use a little more or leave your sauce to cook a little longer to really get the most out of them.
For one vegetarian / vegan portion:
1/4 cup of soya mince OR 1/4 cup of red lentils
(You can use finely chopped up mushrooms but bleugh- not for me)
1 tbs of Low Sodium Light Soya Sauce
1 cup of Miso Stock (Dissolve 1tsp of miso in a cup of hot water)
Garnishes:
Fresh Basil
Rocket
...What do I do with all this stuff?!
Remember when cooking for vegetarians / vegans to use separate utensils.
Heat up a medium pot on medium heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and saute your base of red onion, carrot and celery for 5 minutes or until glossy. Add your soya mince and lentils and chopped garlic. You want to put the garlic in now so it doesn't burn. If you add it with the rest, it'll go bitter and no one wants that. Fry on high, stirring constantly for 5 minutes then pour in your Miso stock and the red wine boil for another 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol. If you're using dry herbs you may want to throw them in now.
Pour in your chopped tomatoes (if you're using fresh herbs, then at this point you'd want to add them). Add the light soy sauce to your veggie pan. Stir in the tomato puree, cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
Get a pot of water boiling on the stove (Don't measure the water, just fill it), add maybe a teaspoon or so of salt. Once it's at a rolling boil, add the pasta and once it gets back to boiling, cook for 5 minutes. (LOOK INTO MY VIRTUAL EYES AND TRUST ME WHEN I SAY "DON'T READ THE TIME ON THE PACKET OF PASTA".)
The Pasta will be a little under-cooked at this stage but what you're going to do is finish cooking it in the sauce. Don't drain the pasta in a colander, simply take a pasta server or some tongs and drop it all in your sauce pot. Now i'll tell you why you do this instead of draining the pasta. Pasta water is amazing for keeping your sauce loose and glossy. If the pasta is splashing water into the pot as you drop it in, then that's great, sometimes I scoop a spoonful or two into the sauce on purpose to keep it loose. Make sure the sauce and pasta is well combined. At this point keep the sauce pot on the heat until you're happy with the texture of the pasta.
Once you're happy with it, you can dish it all up, lightly drizzle with olive oil, garnish with some fresh basil (and rocket if you wanna look dead posh) and serve.