A super quick, tasty, hearty, frugal, but also plant-based recipe!
Pasta Bolognese or minced "meat" pasta. Bolognese is a simple and famous Italian cuisine sauce, and a typical Bologna recipe, hence its name. It is usually served with spaghetti, while in Italy long and wide pasta are traditionally used, such as tagliatelle, fettuccine, and pappardelle, to make the sauce stand better on the pasta, but also for better absorption.
Here, of course, our recipe is vegan (therefore vegetarian and fasting). The minced "meat" is delicious and its base is made of minced soya and vegetables. If you haven't cooked minced soya before, don't be hesitate to try it. Τhink of it as a substitute for minced meat, that needs more spices. Our recipe is so easy and will guide you step by step. Along with the spices and tomatoes, the result is amazing! Simple, but extremely tasty and nutritious.
Just because it's such a simple, easy and quick recipe, it's perfect for last-minute meals, but also when cooking for many people. Particularly delicious and satisfying.
If you want you can replace the whole grain spaghetti with zucchini which you will cut in the shape of spaghetti. If you have the time and patience you can do it with a knife on a wooden cutting surface or use the special vegetable spiral cutter (spiralizer).
Try it and we look forward to your comments! 🙂
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Pasta Bolognese with minced soya and vegetables
Ingredients
- 500 g pasta /17.6 oz (we recommend wholegrain linguine)
- 1 cup soya mince (6 oz) (preferably organic)
- 3 tomatoes grated or blended
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 large carrot finely diced
- 1 medium zucchini finely chopped into small cubes (optional)
- ½ pepper (preferably Florina pepper) finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ¼ tsp curry
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp sweet paprika
- ¼ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- ¼ tsp unprocessed sugar
- ¼ cup olive oil for sautéing
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak the soya mince in hot water for 10 minutes to inflate and soften.
- While waiting, boil water in a pot and add the pasta. Boil according to package instructions.
- In the meantime, prepare your vegetables.
- After ten minutes, drain the minced meat in a fine strainer, rinse it under the tap and finally press it with your fist (inside the strainer) to remove excess liquid.
Soya mince
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan or wok, over medium to high heat.
- When hot, add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the minced soya and the spices. Raise the temperature slightly and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Then, add the carrot, zucchini, and pepper and continue sautéing for another 5 minutes or until the minced soya begins to turn brown.
- Next, add the garlic and continue sautéing for another 2 minutes.
- Finally, add the tomatoes and sugar and as soon as it starts to boil, bring to a simmer for another 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
Serving
- Use minced soya as a sauce for pasta or rice.
If you want to serve them with some topping you can use: Nuts or breadcrumbs beaten in a mortar Nuts that have been put through the blender Vegan topping: Beat in the multi (or the blender) ½ cup of cashews, 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and from ¼ kg. onion powder, garlic powder and paprika (sweet or smoked).- You can also use minced soya as filling in cannelloni or wraps, but also as a dip for veggie sticks or nachos.
- It is great in Mexican dishes with guacamole, such as salads and wraps.
Notes
- To drain the minced soya, and have a better texture, place the strainer with the minced soya on a large plate and press it down with your fist, as if you're kneading it. When the plate is filled with water, empty it and continue to press it, until no more water, or almost none, is coming out of the strainer.
- Cut the carrot and zucchini first into slices, lengthwise, about 0.5 cm / 0.19 in. thick. Then, cut each slice into strips, also 0.5 cm / 0.19 in. thick, and finally each strip into 0.5 cm / 0.19 in. cubes. The goal is to have small cubes to give texture to the minced soya.
- You can boil the pasta in vegetable broth for extra flavor and nutrients. Alternatively, we can boil them in water by adding ½ tsp turmeric powder and 2 bay leaves. That way, the pasta will have a slightly unique aroma, but you also take advantage of the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action of turmeric.
- Ideally, if you can organize your time accordingly, cook the spaghetti for 2 minutes less than recommended on the package, remove from the boiling water and add in the sauce for another 2 minutes. To do this, as soon as you add the garlic to the pan, put the spaghetti in the pot to boil. That way, the sauce will be almost ready when we put the spaghetti in and in 2 minutes our meal will be ready!
Nutrition
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Thank you very much for your kind words and we are glad that you are experimenting with other vegetables! 🙂
Excellent recipe. I did not have zucchini and I put mushrooms (because I like them a lot). They fit very well.
Thank you very much, Kostas! As for vegetables, yes, we can say we like it
I had a minced meat in the cupboard and it ended because I had it for a long time and I didn't know what to do with it. I made it the way you say and I was really excited! Well done! Note that I had no zucchini, but I put two carrots.