Vegan Mushroom Spaghetti Bolognese
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 20 +20 minutes soaking time
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Serves: 6 with pasta
- 50g/1.7ozs dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs. boiling water
- Extra virgin olive oil for frying
- 1 large onion, peeled and diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
- 500g/1.1lbs white or brown mushrooms, diced
- 2.5-3 cups hot water
- 5 beef stock cubes (replace with vegan beef stock)
- 1 cup red wine
- 180g/6ozs. tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons Vegemite
- 400g/14ozs. pasta sauce (use your favourite)
- Salt and lots of black pepper to season
Step 1 - First rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms in the boiling water. Cover with a plate and make sure all of the mushrooms are submerged in the water. Allow to absorb for 20-30 minutes. Take out mushrooms from the water, but keep the water. Squeeze excess water back into the bowl and then remove the stalk and discard. Finely chop these too (or place in a food processor/chopper). Make up the 3 cups of water with the reserved mushroom soaking liquid and top up with hot water. Stir in the stock cubes (or vegan stock) to create an intensely flavoured beef stock and set aside.
Step 2 - While they're hydrating I get on with chopping and sautéing the rest. You can definitely chop it all in the Thermomix or a food processor to save time. Add some oil to a large cast iron pot on medium heat. Fry the onion and carrot together until softened, around 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic. The add both types of finely chopped mushrooms and add a bit more oil. Sauté to release any water and then add 1/2 cup of the beef stock and the wine and allow it to absorb.
Step 3 - Add the tomato paste, soy sauce and Vegemite and keep adding beef stock 1/2 cup at a time allowing it to absorb. Keep cooking for 30 minutes or so so that the mushrooms absorb all the flavour into them and no longer taste woody or dry. Finally add in the pasta sauce and taste for seasoning. It will probably need some salt (depending on how salty your stock cubes are) and I like to add a lot of black pepper too.