Saturday, Sunday and Monday: the best vegan ragù recipe ever.
I remember this movie scene, as realistic as it is delirious, on “Saturday, Sunday and Monday” by Lina Wertmüller in which Rosa (played by Sophia Loren) is busy in the kitchen with the preparation of her special meat sauce whose preparation time requires an infinite number of hours and anecdotes. And a good dose of patience. Ragù indeed represents for Italians the golden crown on a plate of pasta and is a long ritual that must be conducted with the right scepter of power in hand: the wooden spoon. Nothing better than the wooden spoon can restore the flavors and secret alchemies of the pot in your mouth and whispers to you to add more salt, pepper or a pinch of bicarbonate. Because this complex meeting point of flavors, ragù is also the sauce of great occasions: we know that it requires great sacrifice! In my house, the ragù was served with a plate of fettuccine or lasagne, the latter regular guests for Christmas lunch. In this vegan version, I will not make anyone regret the absence of meat, I would say that if I did not say you could even believe that it is a classic meat sauce! All you have to do is get the soy mince that has the texture and properties to do the magic. It is important to macerate for at least 15 minutes with a little soy sauce or vegetable broth, in this way will have much more flavor.
On Saturday night she would put herself in the kitchen with the spoon in her hand, and she wouldn’t move from the casserole even if they would have killed her.
Maria “Sophia Loren” – Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Fettuccine with vegan ragù
Ingredients
- vegan fettuccine
- 1 carrot (chopped)
- 1 celery (chopped)
- 1 apple (grated)
- 2 medium onions (chopped)
- 1 garlic clove (grated)
- 1 bottle tomato sauce
- about 2 cups soy mince
- soy sauce
- salt and pepper
- 1 chili pepper
- sugar /bicarbonate
Directions
- dice the onion, carrot, and celery, grate the apple
- pour 2 Tbs olive oil on a pan ad low heat, add the onion sautè until golden, add the grated apple, the carrot, and celery
- drizzle the soy mince with 4 Tbs soy salt and cover with hot water, let it rest for at least 15 minutes
- Once the mirepoix is soft, add drain the soy mince and add it to the pan, toast it together for about 5 minutes
- pour the tomato sauce, add around 1 cup of water to the bottle, shake it until it catches al the remaining tomato sauce and pour it into the pan
- adjust with 1 tsp salt, pepper, a bit olive oil a pinch of bicarbonate or 1 tsp sugar, add 1 chili pepper, let it cook with lid in at low heat for about 20 minutes.
- cook the vegan fettuccine al dente
- save a bit of the vegan ragù for the topping and mix the cooked fettuccine in the pan with the sauce, add olive oil, basil, pepper
