Bangin' Bolognese

Bangin' Bolognese

This is genuinely one of our all-time favourite weeknight dinners. We've made it so many times we've lost count, and honestly it never gets old. The mushrooms cook down into this rich, deeply savoury base that tastes like it's been simmering for hours, but you're on the table in 30 minutes. It's proper comfort food, the kind that makes you want to pile it high and eat it straight from the pan. Make this tonight and we promise you'll be adding it to the regular rotation.

Cook: 30 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Food processor
  • Large frying pan
  • Large saucepan
  • Mixing bowl

Ingredients

  • 700g chestnut mushrooms
  • 500g spaghetti
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • basil leaves
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 red onions
  • 1 celery stick
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 2 carrots - about 150g
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 300ml red wine - vegan
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • ½ tsp dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf

Method

1

Blend and cook the mushrooms

  • Put the mushrooms in the food processor and pulse until very finely minced (you can chop them if you prefer, but it’s quicker with a food processor) 
  • Pour the oil into the frying pan 
  • Add the mushrooms and season with a small pinch of salt and pepper 
  • Cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are well browned 
  • Take the pan off the heat, transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and set aside
2

Make the sauce

  • Peel and roughly chop the onions for the tomato sauce 
  • Trim the leaves and root from the celery and roughly chop 
  • Peel the garlic 
  • Trim the carrots and peel if the skin is tough, then roughly chop 
  • Put the chopped vegetables and garlic into the food processor and mince well
  • Put the same pan back on a medium-high heat and add the oil 
  • Add the minced onions, garlic, carrots and celery and cook for about 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft 
  • Stir in the tomato purée 
  • Add the red wine, balsamic vinegar, oregano, bay leaf and soy sauce 
  • Stir everything together and then turn down the heat 
  • Simmer for 10 minutes
3

Cook the pasta

  • Meanwhile, put the large saucepan on a high heat, pour in the hot water, season with a big pinch of salt and bring to the boil 
  • Add the pasta to the pan and cook until al dente, following the instructions on the packet 
  • Spoon 100ml of the pasta water into a cup and set aside 
  • Drain the pasta
4

Simmer the sauce

  • Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper 
  • Add the minced mushrooms to the simmering sauce, turn up the heat and pour in the reserved pasta water 
  • Stir everything together and let the sauce simmer for another 3–5 minutes to warm through
5

Time to serve

  • Pour the sauce into the pasta pot and stir everything together so that the sauce completely covers the pasta 
  • Scatter over the basil leaves and grind over some black pepper 
  • Serve to happy faces!

Tips & Variations

  • Get a good brown: Don't pull the mushrooms off the heat too early. You want them dark and almost sticky looking. That caramelisation is everything in this recipe.
  • Pasta pairing: We love this with a thick pasta like pappardelle or rigatoni. The sauce clings to the ridges and you get a bit of it in every bite. Spaghetti works great too if that's what you've got.
  • Make it richer: Henry always stirs in a tablespoon of tomato paste early on and lets it cook out for a minute before adding anything else. It deepens the whole thing and takes it to another level.

Why This Works

The trick here is cooking the mushrooms long enough that all the liquid evaporates and they really brown. That's where all the flavour lives. Don't rush that step and don't be tempted to skip the food processor either, getting them finely minced means they take on this incredible meaty texture that genuinely fools people. Trust us on this one.