Fettuccine Bolognese Recipe

Serves

4-6

Ingredients

a very generous glug of olive oil
1 brown onion, very finely chopped
2 celery stalks, very finely chopped
2 carrots, very finely chopped
400g vegan mince meat
3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
60g tomato purée
120ml red wine
690g jar passata (sieved tomatoes)
1 litre veggie stock or vegan ‘chicken’ or ‘beef’ stock
1 generous tsp salt
1tsp sugar
500g dried fettuccine
Generous amount of herbs (fresh or dried). Try 1tsp each of dried basil, oregano, thyme and crushed fennel seeds
salt and freshly ground
black pepper

To serve

good-quality vegan feta or other soft cheese (optional)
fresh herbs such as basil, parsley or oregano (optional)
nutritional yeast (optional), to taste
dried chilli (hot pepper) flakes, to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, add the onion, celery and carrots and cook for a good 5-10 minutes until the veggies are soft and starting to turn ever so slightly brown. Add the mince meat and use a wooden spoon to break it up into smaller pieces, add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring it into the mince. Add the wine and let it cook for a few minutes, then add the passata, stock, salt and sugar. Bring to the boil and add the fettuccine and dried herbs (if using).

Gently coerce the fettuccine into the sauce, and cook according to the pasta packet instructions, stirring every now and again to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

When the pasta is cooked, remove the pan from the heat, give everything a good stir and cover the pan with a lid. It should still be a little soupy at this stage, but have faith! Allow it to sit for 10 minutes, then remove the lid to reveal a delicious, silky, perfect bolognese. Taste, season with salt and pepper if necessary, and serve, topped with something creamy, fresh herbs, nutritional yeast (if using) and chilli flakes.

Recipe courtesy of Vegan One-Pot Wonders by Jessica Dennison (Hardie Grant) Photography Bec Hudson

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