serves
4
prep
15 minutes
cook
20 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
20
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1½ slices bread (about 60 g), broken into pieces (I like using day-old ciabatta style)
- 1 tbsp stock powder (I like using plant-based beef-style stock)
- ½ garlic clove, crushed
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- Handful fresh parsley
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 700 g good quality tomato passata or diced canned tomatoes
- A few basil leaves, optional, plus extra to garnish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 500 g dried or fresh fettuccine or pappardelle
- Vegan parmesan cheese, to garnish
Instructions
- Add the walnuts, bread, stock powder, garlic, liquid smoke and parsley to a food processor and process until it resembles a medium-fine crumb. If you’d prefer a chunkier mince, your ragu will turn out a little crunchy in texture. To avoid this, you can soak the walnuts overnight to soften.
- Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frypan. Fry the walnut mince for a few minutes until brown. Stir through the passata and basil (if using) and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring often.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente.
- Before turning off the heat, check the ragu for seasonings, adding salt and cracked black pepper to taste.
- Stir the cooked pasta through the walnut ragu, adding a dash of reserved pasta cooking water if the sauce is too dry.
- Serve with a sprinkling of vegan parmesan cheese and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Garnish with extra fresh basil leaves, if desired.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
