Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Sichuan-spiced beetroot and walnut bolognese | The brand new vegan

Here is a wedding of two of my favorite dishes: mapo tofu and spaghetti bolognese. Each titans of the meals world, arguably neither must be messed with, but right here we’re, just because someday I couldn’t select between them. There are various quotes about how indecision is dangerous and “the thief of alternative”, however it may be the genesis of one thing new – within the kitchen, at the very least. The Sichuan a part of the dish is represented by the aromatics – that’s, ginger, garlic, spring onions and Sichuan pepper – and the “bolognese” by the sun-dried tomatoes and a trio of meaty components: beetroot, walnut and mushroom. The end result, I hope you’ll agree, is an exceptionally completely satisfied union.

Sichuan-spiced beetroot and walnut bolognese

You’ll want a meals processor to make this. Chilli bean sauce, or toban djan, might be present in bigger supermarkets, most Chinese language supermarkets and on-line.

Prep 15 min
Prepare dinner 50 min
Serves 4

2 medium beetroots, scrubbed, peeled and roughly chopped (400g internet)
50g shelled walnuts
400g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2cm x 2cm piece ginger, peeled
150g spring onions, trimmed, roughly chopped and rinsed
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, roughly bashed in a mortar
2 tbsp chilli bean sauce – I exploit Lee Kum Kee
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
Tremendous sea salt
400g spaghetti

Put the beetroot and walnuts in a meals processor and blitz till finely chopped. Scrape into a big bowl, then put the mushrooms within the processor and blitz to a tremendous crumb. Scrape the mushrooms into the identical bowl. Put the garlic, ginger and spring onions within the meals processor, pulse till finely minced, then switch to a small bowl.

Warmth the oil in a large, nonstick pan. As soon as it’s scorching, add the Sichuan pepper and the ginger, garlic and spring onion combination, and fry, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the beetroot, mushroom and walnut combination – to start with, it’ll really feel like a lot, however the combine will quickly collapse and scale back in dimension – and prepare dinner, stirring commonly and spreading the combination evenly throughout the pan, for 20 minutes.

Stir within the chilli bean sauce and the sun-dried tomato paste, prepare dinner for one more couple of minutes, then take off the warmth.

Carry a pan of well-salted water to a boil – I exploit a teaspoon of salt per litre of water – drop within the spaghetti and, in the direction of the tip of the cooking time, take out a mugful (or 220ml) of the water. Add the drained spaghetti to the beetroot pan, pour within the reserved cooking water, toss to combine properly and serve immediately.