Quinoa penne with vegetarian ragù sauce

Yield: 6 servings
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 60 min
Total time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Categories: vegetarian, health, vegan

This sauce can be prepared in advance and even frozen. Just cook the pasta and reheat the sauce when the time comes.

Ingredients

• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 c. textured vegetable protein (PVT) rehydrated 15 min in hot water
• 1 c. tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 c. red wine
• fresh herbs tied so that they can be removed at the end of cooking: 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 sprigs of rosemary and 3 sprigs of basil
• OR
• 2 tbsp. dried Italian herbs
• 4 c. spinach, rinsed and coarsely chopped.
• 2 boxes of 227g of quinoa macaroni such as Gogo Quinoa

Preparation

1. In a food processor, finely chop onions, carrots and celery.
2. In a large saucepan, heat oil and cook vegetables and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add rehydrated textured vegetable protein, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for 5 min.
4. Pour in the wine and add the herbs. Simmer for 45 minutes until much liquid has evaporated and sauce is thick.
5. Add spinach and cook until they wilt. Rectify the seasoning.
6. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packaging.
7. Serve sauce over pasta.