Fancy a tasty pasta without meat? This tagliatelle with mushroom bolognese is rich in flavour and deliciously savoury. Chestnut mushrooms are finely chopped to a texture that somewhat resembles minced meat and together with carrot, celery and onion form the base of the sauce.

With tomato, red wine, oregano, rosemary and bay leaf the vegetarian bolognese is given plenty of time to gently reduce. The result is a full-bodied pasta sauce that pairs wonderfully with fresh tagliatelle.

For 2 people
Preparation time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 carrots
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 g chestnut mushrooms
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp honey (optional)
• ½ tsp Natural Spices rosemary
• ¼ tsp Natural Spices ground bay leaf
• 1 tbsp Natural Spices oregano
• 200 g diced tomatoes
• 200 ml passata
• 100 ml red wine
• 100 ml milk
• ½ vegetable stock cube
• 250 g fresh (whole wheat) tagliatelle

How to make tagliatelle with mushroom bolognese

1. Peel the carrots and cut them together with the celery into large pieces. Peel the onion and garlic and also cut these roughly. Put everything in a food processor and pulse briefly until the vegetables are very finely chopped. Do not grind them completely smooth; for the sauce you want to keep a fine texture.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the finely chopped vegetables and fry them for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat, until they start to soften.
3. Meanwhile clean the chestnut mushrooms. Put them in the food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped and have roughly the texture of minced meat.
4. Add the mushrooms to the vegetables and fry for about 7 minutes. Stir regularly and let the moisture released from the mushrooms evaporate well. This gives the mushrooms more chance to brown and intensifies the flavour.
5. Add the tomato paste and fry for about 2 minutes. Then add the honey, oregano, rosemary and ground bay leaf and fry for about 1 more minute.
6. Pour in the diced tomatoes, passata, red wine and milk and crumble the half stock cube over the pan. Stir well and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
7. Let the mushroom bolognese simmer and reduce on low heat for about 30 minutes without a lid. Stir occasionally. If the sauce becomes too thick while reducing, add a small splash of water.
8. Meanwhile cook the tagliatelle according to the instructions on the package until al dente. If desired, reserve a small cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta.
9. Add the tagliatelle to the mushroom bolognese and toss well. If the sauce is very thick, add a small splash of pasta water so the sauce clings nicely to the tagliatelle.
10. Divide the tagliatelle with mushroom bolognese over two deep plates and serve immediately.

Tip

Garnish the pasta with fresh basil and optionally a vegetarian or plant-based substitute for Parmesan cheese. Traditional Parmesan cheese is made with animal rennet and is therefore not suitable for a strictly vegetarian dish.

Do you want to make the mushroom bolognese completely plant-based? Replace the milk with an unsweetened plant-based alternative and the honey with, for example, a little sugar or maple syrup.