There are few foods as comforting as a rich and indulgent bolognese. This recipe fits the bill perfectly. Not only is it exploding with flavour and richness, but it is also super simple and quick to make.
So it’s perfect for either a quick weekday dinner or a more comforting weekend treat on a cold autumn or winter night — it’s perfect with a glass of red wine too.
But there is one key difference between this and your standard bolognese: there is no meat. But don’t let that put you off. There is as much, if not more, flavour in this bolognese as there is in your standard meat-based version.
The secret to that is the vegetables and plants used: the cauliflower, mushrooms and walnuts give the dish the classic bolognese mouth-feel, while the roasting process creates that deep flavour.
And the glory of this dish is that you can eat as much of it as you want — it is very good for you, which you can’t say about a meat-based bolognese. A traditional bolognese comes from an under-rated city in Italy, which you can read more about here.
The recipe comes from recipe writer and Mob food producer Jodie Nixon. It’s also recommended by the Zoe food and nutrition app, which says you can “enjoy freely” (that is, eat as often as you like, though this does depend on the unique way your body reacts to certain foods).
People who have tried it have left their feedback on the Mob website, with one saying: “I have made many Mob recipes and this one definitely stands out! So delicious and creamy, incredible combination of tastes in a perfectly balanced way and texture.”
Another says: “This is one of my favourite Mob recipes! Absolutely delicious and fairly easy to make. I liked to batch cook this one and pop it in the freezer.”
To make this you will need the following equipment:
- One or two roasting trays
- A pan for frying
- A pan to boil the pasta
Ingredients (for six servings)
- Celery, 2 stalks
- Walnuts, 150g
- Miso paste, 2tbsp (I made it without the Miso paste and it was fine)
- Mushrooms, 450g
- Onions, 1 (or use 3 shallots)
- Tomato puree, 5tbsp
- Garlic, 4 cloves
- Parmesan, 70g
- Olive oil, 6 tbsp
- Water, 600ml
- Fresh thyme, 4 sprigs
- Cauliflower, 1 medium head
- Pasta, 500g
- Cream, 5 tbsp
Method
- Heat the oven to 230C.
- Add the mushrooms to a food processor and pulse until coarse (alternatively, use a knife to chop finely).
- Break up the cauliflower florets (you can do this based on your preference of how chunky you want the sauce to be. The official recipe says break up the cauliflower until it start to resemble grains of rice, but I also left some slightly larger pieces in there too for variety).
- Do the same with the walnuts.
- Add the cauliflower and mushrooms to one or two lined roasting trays (depending on their size) and drizzle with most of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper then roast for 20 minutes.
- Add the walnuts, give everything a good mix and roast for 15 minutes more — keep an eye on it to make sure that nothing burns.
- Blitz the celery, onion/shallots and garlic in a food processor (or chop very finely with a knife). Cook it in a pan with the remaining olive oil and the thyme for around 10 minutes.
- Add the tomato puree and miso (if using, I did not) to the pan, cook for two minutes, then add the cauliflower, mushroom and walnut mixture. Add the water and simmer for 20 minutes until thickened.
- Stir in the cream.
- Cook your pasta.
- Add the grated Parmesan to your ragu and add the pasta to the mix too. Stir it all together until nicely glossy.
- Serve it up. Add more parmesan and/or olive oil as you please.
