Place in a food processor roughly chopped: onion, celery, garlic and carrot. Pulse until the veggies are well minced. Set aside.

Without washing it, place in the same blender bowl the chickpeas (well drained from any liquid) and pulse until you reach a texture more or less coarse, according to your own taste. This will be our vegan mince for the ragù.

Heat the oil the rosemary and the bay leaves on medium heat for 20-30 seconds. Add the “soffritto” veggies (celery, carrot, onion and garlic) with a pinch of salt and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft. If you want you can use less oil and add some vegetable broth instead or no oil at all and replace it with vegetable broth for a WFPB and oil free version.

Add the minced chickpeas, give the mixture a thorough stir and heat for a minute or two.

At this point pour the red wine and cook out the alcohol for another couple of minutes.

Once the alcohol has evaporated, it’s time to add the tomato passata, season with salt and pepper, lower down the heat and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. Note: if the sauce dries out, add up to ½ cup of water or vegetable broth to taste.

Serve the ragù with your favourite pasta shape, add it into a lasagna or vegetable bake, or enjoy as it is with a couple of toasted sourdough bread and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.