Food
World Vegetarian Day
by Sarah Randell
Serves: 4
More and more of us are moving away from the traditional meat-and-two-veg diet to experiment with new ingredients and combinations. Health experts say that skipping meat one day a week could cut our saturated fat consumption by 15%, which can only be a good thing!
We've been trying out Meat-Free Mondays and have discovered lots of great veggie recipes to cook up. Here's one of our hearty autumn favourites that we'll be rustling up tonight; the perfect warming supper after a chilly day, and a great way to celebrate World Vegetarian Day.
Why not try your own Meat-Free Monday at home? Let us know which veggie dish you go for!
Pappardelle with mushroom ragu, walnuts and crispy sage
Ingredients
- 15g mixed dried mushrooms
- 50g walnut pieces
- 500g mixed mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300g dried pappardelle or linguine
- 12-16 smallish sage leaves
- 2-3 tbsp walnut oil
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
Method
- Put the dried mushrooms in a small, deep bowl, add enough boiling water to just cover them, then leave to soak.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
- Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes, tossing now and then. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool.
- Cook the sliced mushrooms in the frying pan with the oil for 8-10 minutes, stirring now and then.
- Drain the dried mushrooms (reserve the soaking liquid), chop them and add, along with the soaking liquid, to the sliced mushrooms.
- Bubble the mushrooms together for 5 minutes to reduce the liquid to a couple of tablespoons. Season, then tip the mushrooms into a bowl. Rinse and dry the pan.
- Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to pack instructions.
- Meanwhile, fry the sage leaves in the clean frying pan in 1 tablespoon of the walnut oil until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
- Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Toss with the lemon zest and juice and the mushrooms.
- Serve in warm bowls, drizzled with the remaining walnut oil, sprinkled with the walnuts and crispy sage leaves.
