Tempeh alla Bolognese

Ingredients for 4 to 5 people

·         395 grams tempeh (1 pack)

·         Drizzle of olive oil

·         1 onion

·         3 cloves of garlic

·         150 grams carrot

·         100 grams celery

·         150 grams chestnut mushrooms

·         100 ml red wine

·         700 grams tomato passata  

·         1 cube of vegetable stock, dissolved in 75 ml water

·         4 tsp Italian herbs

·         2 tsp dried rosemary

·         2 dried bay leaves

·         1 tsp salt

·         2 tsp pepper

·         400 grams of spaghetti

Procedure

1) Chop the onion and cut the carrot, celery and mushrooms into small cubes of about 0.5 by 0.5 cm. Crumble the tempeh into small chunks of about 1 by 1 cm.

2) Fry the onion in a large frying pan with the olive oil. Crush the garlic and fry it. When the onion is translucent, add the carrot, celery and mushrooms. Let this cook for a few minutes on a medium heat.

3) Add the wine. When the alcohol has evaporated, add the tomato passata and vegetable stock.

4) Season the sauce with the Italian herbs, rosemary, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir well. Let this simmer for at least 15 minutes with the lid on the pan. The longer the sauce simmers, the softer the vegetables become.

5) Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti as stated on the package.

6) Finally, add the tempeh 'minced meat' to the sauce and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

7) Serve the spaghetti with the sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Chefs Tip: If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.

Chefs Tip: If you want to make the sauce even tastier, make the sauce a few hours in advance so that the herbs release their flavor better.