Vegan Ragu

Method

1. If using porcini, soak them in 480 ml / 2 cups of boiling water as much in advance as you can. You can use a mushroom stock cube dissolved in boiling water instead.
2. Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F (or 180° C / 355° F on a fan setting) and grab a large baking tray.
3. ut any wooden, tough bits off the mushroom stems. Using your hands, tear the mushrooms into strips starting from the cap. Chop mushroom strips into a dice.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine 15 ml / 1 tbsp olive oil, 15 ml / 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp tomato puree and nutritional yeast (a sprinkle of garlic powder is also nice). Mix well and coat chopped mushrooms in this mixture. You can leave the mushrooms to marinate for a few hours, but you can also just bake them straight away – it makes little difference to the overall ragu flavour.
5. Spread mushrooms on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes, give them a good stir and bake for a further 10-15 minutes.
6. While the mushrooms are baking, heat 30 ml / 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Add diced onion and sauté on a low heat for a few minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.
7. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for a about 2-3 minutes (until it softens and becomes fragrant), stirring frequently.
8. Season (bearing in mind that soy sauce contributes saltiness too), add the remaining teaspoon of smoked paprika, cumin, chilli and chopped herbs. Stir well to coat.
9. Next, add in carrots and celery dice. Sauté for a few minutes before adding wine. Allow the wine to cook off before adding tomato passata.
10. Rinse rehydrated porcini under the tap to ensure there is no grit in them, dice very finely and add to the pan together with mushroom stock taking care not to tip in the grit that settles at the bottom.
11. Add tomato passata, the rest of the tomato paste, 15 ml / 1 tbsp soy sauce and bay leaves. Reduce the sauce (lid off) on a low heat for about 20 minutes. Give it a stir from time to time.
12. Stir in chopped walnuts and baked oyster mushrooms. Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed. For best flavour, store the sauce in the fridge overnight for the flavours to meld.
13. When serving with pasta, reserve about 240 ml / 1 cup of pasta cooking water (you may not need all of it) to loosen the sauce a little and make it coat your pasta strands better.