Spaghetti with Wood Ear Mushrooms and Brussel Sprouts
I’m being brave posting a recipe with Brussels in it as I know that not everyone loves them as much as I do. Don’t be put off though if you are not a Brussels lover as you can use another green veg of your choice or just leave them out all together. This sauce is a beauty. So rich and meaty (in the non animal meaty way).
This recipe was inspired by seeing fresh black fungi (wood ear mushrooms) at the farmers market and Brussels being in season at the moment where I live. The idea to put the black fungi in pasta sauce came from a meal I had recently at the fabulous Smith and Daughters restaurant in Melbourne. They have a pasta dish on the menu using cloud mushrooms, which are white in colour. They were sort of similar in shape to the black fungi so I thought I would give it a whirl.
I decided to give it a go at making a pasta sauce with wine, something I have never done before, wow it was incredibly robust in flavour which accompanied the Brussel sprouts so well. If you don’t want to use wine in this recipe you can use ½ cup grape juice instead or leave out entirely. And if you can’t source wood ear mushrooms, use king mushrooms instead and if you can’t source them then use whatever mushrooms you can find.
Spaghetti with Wood Ear Mushrooms and Brussels
Ingredients
1 packet gluten free spaghetti
150g wood ear mushrooms torn into halves or quarters
200g Brussels sliced thinly
800g fresh tomatoes diced
1 red onion diced finely
3 cloves garlic
3 tsp dried basil or ¼ cup of fresh basil leaves
1 tbsp dried oregano or 3 tbsp fresh oregano
½ cup red wine
Big splashes of olive oil
Salt
Chilli (optional)
Pepper
Method
Place a big splash of olive oil in a wok and add the herbs, salt, chilli if using, onion and garlic and sauté for a few minutes.
Next add the tomatoes, put the lid on the wok and cook on a moderate heat until the tomatoes are broken down.
Add the wine and take the lid off the wok and simmer for 15 minutes or more.
Meanwhile in a frying pan sauté the Brussels with a smaller splash of olive oil and some salt. Cook until soft.
Take Brussels out of the frying pan and then sauté the wood ear mushrooms for a few minutes.
In a blender add half of the tomato sauce and blend. Add that back to the wok and stir in the Brussels and wood ear mushrooms.
Keep on a simmer while you cook the spaghetti.
Add the cooked spaghetti with ¼ cup of the cooking water to the wok with the tomato sauce and stir through.
Add another splash of oil if the sauce is not sticking to the spaghetti.
Taste for salt and pepper and add more if needed
Serve with your favourite vegan sprinkle.
# If you make this recipe please share on facebook or instagram to #veetsvegancookingschool
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