Spaghetti with Porcini Mushroom Ragù
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Total: 35 mins
If food is the language of love, then spaghetti says ‘pucker up, gorgeous’. Set a candlelit table for two with this vegan spin on spag bol, made with a rich tomato, lentil and porcini mushroom sauce and topped with a zingy lemon and herb gremolata.
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496 kcal
(per portion)
Ingredients you'll need
  • 12g dried porcini mushrooms
  • 1 onion
  • 400g wonky mushrooms
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 400g chopped tomatoes
  • 75g dark speckled lentils
  • 150g spaghetti
  • 1 lemon
  • A handful of flat leaf parsley
From your kitchen
  • ½ tbsp olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • 200ml boiling water
  • Freshly ground pepper
You'll need
  • Heatproof measuring jug
  • Grater
  • Frying pan wth lid
  • Large pan with lid
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Fill and boil your kettle. Tip the dried porcini mushrooms into a heatproof jug and pour over enough hot water from the kettle to just cover them. Set aside to soak.

  • 2.

    Peel and finely chop the onion. Tear the wonky mushrooms into small pieces. Peel and grate or crush 1 garlic clove. Warm a frying pan on a medium heat for 1 min then add ½ tbsp olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, wonky mushrooms and a pinch of salt and cook for 6 mins till softened.

  • 3.

    Drain the porcini mushrooms, discarding the soaking liquid. Give the porcini a squeeze then pop them back into the jug and pour in 200ml hot water from the kettle.

  • 4.

    When the mushrooms have cooked for 6 mins, add the tin of chopped tomatoes and the dark speckled lentils. Tip in the porcini mushrooms and their soaking liquid. Bring up to a bubble then pop on a lid and simmer for 15 mins.

  • 5.

    While the ragù is simmering, fill and boil the kettle again then pour the water into a large pan. Add a pinch of salt and bring the water up to a bubble. When the ragù has 10 mins left to cook, add the spaghetti to the water and simmer for 8-10 mins till tender with a slight bite.

  • 6.

    While the ragù and spaghetti are cooking, peel and grate or crush the remaining garlic clove into a bowl. Finely grate in the zest from the lemon and squeeze in the juice. Finely chop the parsley leaves and stalks and add those. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. This is your gremolata.

  • 7.

    When the ragù has cooked for 15 mins, taste it and add more salt or pepper if you think it needs it. Drain the spaghetti if you haven't already and divide it between a couple of shallow bowls. Top with the mushroom ragù and spoon over the zingy gremolata to serve.

  • Tip

    Wonky wonders
    Beauty comes in many forms, and while you're unlikely to see these fabulous fungi sashaying down a catwalk, they really come into their own in the kitchen. Our wonderfully wonky mushrooms are absolutely packed with flavour, and sizzled in a hot pan they cook up – dare we say it – rather beautifully.

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