"Meaty" Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Too much time blogging, not enough time sailing! Some of you may have noticed that things have moved around a bit on the site. Over the weekend, I did some rearranging. In the process, we have lost some of your comments that were previously posted on various pages. If your comment was one that we lost, please don't take offense and please please please continue to comment! We love hearing from you! Our engine mounts have been shipped so we will hopefully be on our way very shortly!

I am posting this recipe in reverse because in retrospect this is probably the order that I should’ve made it in. It all started with a craving for white lasagna. Creamy, white lasagna is something my mum has always made and while mine didn’t exactly turn out the way I had imagined, it was still pretty delicious. To put it together, I spent hours in my small galley making all the parts when what I probably should’ve done was make the sauce one day and then assemble the lasagna the next. That being said, having the sauce already made meant almost zero effort to make lunch the next day. I will hopefully post the full recipe for the lasagna in the coming days.

I had heard about TVP and had read recipes that called for it but had never actually looked for it, let alone cooked with it until we moved to Honiara a few years ago. Yes, despite all of the things that we couldn’t get there, TVP was readily available at the bulk food shop. I experimented with it a bit but didn’t get much farther than using it in pasta sauce or sausage rolls. The other day I was reading a cruising forum and saw it suggested that TVP was a great, compact form of protein when cruising for vegetarians & non-vegetarians alike, which makes sense. Then I saw it in the shops here and figured I should give it a try again. TVP stands for textured vegetable protein, another one of the really awesome and attractive names that some vegetarian/vegan food has. Just doesn’t really sell it to the non-vegos! It comes dehydrated and is reconstituted in water, broth or any other liquid. It doesn’t have much taste on its own but has a chewy texture and takes on the taste of whatever it is with. In this case it fit in perfectly with the tomato sauce and added another texture and some protein. We had it with gnocchi but it could be had with any type of pasta or would also be delicious on top of polenta. It may seem as though we are having a lot of gnocchi lately and that is because it is delicious! But also because I discovered a flaw in my provisioning technique and so am trying to use everything up so I can start over!

More delicious gnocchi....

“Meaty” Mushroom pasta sauce

• 1 ½ c TVP, any size
• ‘beef’ broth (In Australia, Massel is vegan)
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 green chili, minced
• 1 tin mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 tins crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp rosemary
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a separate bowl, cover TVP with beef broth and let sit until it doubles in size (~15min). It may be necessary to add more broth. Remove from bowl and squeeze to remove excess fluid (I use my hands). Roughly chop and set aside.
2. Saute onion until translucent (3-5 min). Add chili and garlic, cook for another 1-2 min.
3. Add remaining ingredients, including TVP. Cook on medium heat until desired consistency is achieved (~30 min).
4. Serve with pasta (or use in lasagna or on top of polenta) and enjoy!