Colourful and wholesome, these wholemeal tagliatelle with vegetable ragù sauce are a fantastic and super tasty way to have a healthy summer meal.
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A superb way to use a variety of summer vegetables that are super healthy and really colourful and appetizing on the plate. Irresistible and versatile, I am sure everyone will agree, even kids who may not usually like their veggies!
This simple and incredibly tasty recipe; is the perfect summer alternative to the classic ragù with legumes or soy TVP.
How to Make Tagliatelle Vegetable Ragu
Vegetable ragù is a recipe that has no set list of ingredients. This is because it is a versatile dish that you can adapt throughout the year to use the seasonal ingredients available at the which you will add to the tomato sauce. You can make the tomato sauce however you wish, either using a base of tomato puree, can tomatoes or even fresh tomatoes which offer a lighter and fresher alternative.
The ragù we have is a sauce that lends itself really well to other dishes such as pasta, gnocchi or even slices of fried or grilled polenta (sgagliozze) or toasted bread (bruschetta).
There are a couple of options for how we want to prepare our tomato base. As before we have a light alternative, reminiscent of the preparation of the traditional classic ragù:
- we start with a sauté of celery, carrot and onion
- add the diced vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes
- add the tomato puree and let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes
The second alternative involves deep frying the vegetables before being added to the sauté for a more intense and tasty flavor:
- also in this case we will start with the classic celery, carrot and onion "soffritto"
- add the tomato sauce to the sauté and let it simmer for about 20 minutes
- in the meantime we will deep fry our diced vegetables in abundant vegetable oil for about 5 minutes (depending on the quantity of vegetables used, more or less frying phases will be required for each type).
- finally we are going to incorporate the vegetables into the tomato sauce and then proceed with the sauce of the pasta or the chosen use.
Personally (and who has been reading me for a while will have already guessed it), I use the first version because:
a) more immediate
b) lighter
c) above all it doesn't make my house smell of fried food!
Finished with a sprinkle of grated vegan cheese of your choice and freshly ground black pepper: this is life!
It does not matter which you choose to use, feel free to use the one you personally prefer.
I do highly recommend, however, that if you want to amaze a table of non vegan guests with this dish, then you must definitely opt for the version with the deep fried vegetables. The are absolutely to die for!
The choice of vegetables is also totally at your discretion, either stick to seasonality or simply pick your favourites. Seasonal food tends to taste better within its season, nature just works that way but it also helps keep your diet varied throughout the year and keeps things fresh and exciting. That is why this recipe is so great, it can be designed so much around the family it is to feed that it is surely impossible to go wrong.
I will be making my version with 3 of my most favourite vegetables which luckily for me are all in season within the same months and these are practically NEVER missing in my fridge during the summer: aubergines, courgettes and peppers.
All finished with generous chopped fresh parsley, pepper and vegan cheese!
Note:
For a third version, lighter than the fried one and equally slurpy, you can cook the diced vegetables in the air fryer, drizzled with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. It will take 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the nuts) at 200° C, shaking the basket well halfway through cooking and taking care to distribute the vegetables inside, forming a single layer.
For an even fresher and summery note you can replace (or even add) the parsley with fragrant fresh basil, simply teared roughly by hand and added into the sauce a few moments before serving.
Whichever version of this summer vegetable ragù you prefer or are going to make, I hope you like it and make everyone who tastes it happy.
Enjoy your meal!
Recipe for Tagliatelle with a Vegetable Ragu
Ingredients:
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Celery Stalk
1 Eggplant (medium)
1 Courgette (large or two medium)
1 Bell Pepper (yellow)
1-2 Garlic Cloves
750 gr Tomato Passata
2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 bunch Fresh Parsley
Salt
Pepper
4 tablespoons Grated Vegan Cheese (optional)
Chilli (optional)
400 gr Tagliatelle (or any pasta of your choice)
Method:
1. First prepare the vegetables by washing them and cutting them into more or less small cubes, making sure they are more or less the same size.
2. Pour the olive oil into a large pan, then add the celery, carrot and onion, then fry for about 5-6 minutes over medium high heat with a pinch of salt which will help release the vegetation water. which will not allow the vegetables to burn.
3. Add the minced garlic (if you like), sauté with the sauté for another minute, then add the diced vegetables.
4. Cook the vegetables over high heat, stirring constantly for about ten minutes; this will allow the vegetables to remain crunchy and tasty.
5. Add the tomato puree, a pinch of dried chilli (optional) and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan or pan with its lid, lower the heat to low and simmer for 15-30 minutes.
6. After cooking, taste the vegetable sauce and check the flavor.
7. Boil the pasta and drain it al dente, taking care to keep a couple of glasses of cooking water.
8. Take about half of the vegetable sauce and set aside in a bowl.
9. Add the noodles to the pan with the vegetable sauce, together with a few tablespoons of cooking water, then mix well, cover with a lid and leave to flavour for a couple of minutes over medium heat.
10. Serve the wholemeal tagliatelle immediately, finished with a generous spoonful of sauce set aside, chopped fresh parsley, freshly ground pepper and grated vegan cheese.
For other yummy pasta dishes do not miss:
- Mushroom Tagliatelle Paglia & Fieno
- Creamy Cauliflower and Mushroom Pasta
- Sea Flavoured Courgettes (Zucchini) and Blossom Pasta
- Asparagus, Broccolini, Courgette and Pea Pesto
- Caramelized Onion, Olives and Hummus Pasta
- Oil Free Vegan Alfredo
- Super Easy Green Bean Pasta Bake
- Vegan Seafood Pasta
- Pasta with Wild Mushrooms and Parsley+Avocado Pesto
- Courgette Blossom Pasta
- Beetroot Tagliatelle with Mushroom Ragù and Parsley&Spinach Pesto
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