Ragù

My grandparents used to make the best ragù and so I have very high standards when it comes to making my own. The key to make an authentic tasting plant-based ragù is to follow a couple of tips&tricks:

1. use a good source of protein that can mimick meat: I chose a combination of TVP (texturized vegetable proteins) and mushrooms because TVP has a meaty texture while mushrooms add both flavour and texture
2. make the best "soffritto". "Fare il soffritto", in Italy, is the action of pan frying onion, carrot and celery with (extra virgin) olive oil. You can't skip this step or it won't taste like ragù. Also, be generous with oil because, since we are not using meat, we are missing out on lots of fats that round and richen the flavour
3. cook it a looong time: way beyond the point when your veggies are, indeed, cooked. This helps to mellow all the flavour together and to dry out the tomato sauce, a process that brings out all that beautiful umami taste 😍

Now that you know the secrets, you can finally make the best vegan ragù.

Ingredients  

Method 

1. Rehydrate the TVP with vegetable stock and then drain off the excess sweezing it a little bit on a sieve
2. Make the soffritto: add the evoo to a large pot and turn on the heat; when the oil is hot, add the carrots, the celery and the onions, all of them very finely chopped 
3. When the onion is fragrant and translucent you can add the TVP and the mushrooms, which should also have been chopped 
4. After around 3-5 minutes add the glass of wine and let it evaporate completely
5. At this point the most work is done: add the tomato sauce, tomato paste , salt and pepper and lower the flame to a minimum. Let it simmer for at least one hour 

If you are looking for inspiration on how to use this ragù don't miss out on the next recipes; but for the moment, remember it can be enjoyed with any type of pasta, bread or even alone!