Pappardelle Bolognese
FOR THE PAPPARDELLE
00 flour: for dusting
Pasta dough or store-bought dry, eggless pappardelle: 1 lb
Semolina flour: for dusting
FOR THE SAUCE
Field roast Italian-style vegan sausage: 13 oz
Extra virgin olive oil: 1/2 cup
Earth Balance butter stick: 2 tbsp
Carrots: 2 (finely chopped)
Celery stalks: 2 (finely chopped)
Garlic cloves: 2 (minced)
Freshly grated nutmeg: 1/8 tsp
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: to taste
Dry white wine: 1/2 cup
Scoty's Marinara Sauce or store-bought vegan sauce: 4 cups
Cashew cream: 1 cup
Excerpted from Crossroads by Tal Ronnen (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2015.
This recipe is 100 percent Scot’s baby. When he was fresh out of culinary school, he landed a job at Johnny’s, a red-checked-tablecloth Italian restaurant in Cleveland, owned by the Santosuosso family. Grandma Santosuosso was famous for her staff Sunday suppers, the platters piled high with freshly made pasta, meatballs, and Bolognese sauce. Scot begged her to give him her recipe, until finally one day, she dragged him by his ear over to the pot and told him to watch and learn.
When Scot joined me at Crossroads, we adapted the sauce into a plant-based version using all the ingredients that Grandma Santosuosso did with the exception of the meat. We don’t feature a lot of meat substitutes in our food, but when we do, they’re only the best. Field Roast Italian sausage is an artisan vegan sausage made by hand in Seattle. The fennel seeds in the sausage add a complexity to the sauce. Serve it over ribbons of pappardelle, and you have a hearty meal.
The recipe below makes twice as much sauce as you need. Refrigerate or freeze the extra for another meal. And the cashew cream needs to be prepared a day in advance, so plan accordingly.
- If using fresh pasta dough, dust your work surface with flour and lay a sheet of pasta dough on it.
- Sprinkle with flour and keep remaining sheets covered. Roll the dough slightly with a rolling pin to make it more pliable.
- Trim the edges to straighten.
- Dust a baking sheet with flour and semolina.
- Fold the sheet over on itself in thirds.
- Cut the folded dough into 1-inch-wide strips.
- Unfold the strips and dust lightly with flour and semolina to prevent sticking.
- Coil into nests and place on the baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining sheets.
- Allow to dry while preparing the sauce. (Store in an airtight container for up to 1 day refrigerated or 1 month frozen. No need to thaw before cooking.)
- Cut the vegan sausage into chunks and pulse in a food processor to form crumbles.
- Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the sausage crumbles and cook, stirring, until crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Add olive oil and butter substitute.
- Once melted, add carrots, celery, and onion.
- Sauté for 1 minute, then add garlic and nutmeg.
- Season with salt and pepper and cook until vegetables are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in wine and stir for 2 minutes to reduce.
- Stir in marinara sauce.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in cashew cream.
- Season again. Reserve half the sauce for another use and keep the rest warm.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add the pappardelle and stir.
- Cook until tender yet firm, 1½ to 2 minutes.
- Drain, reserving ¼ cup of pasta water.
- Add the pasta to the warm sauce and toss with tongs to coat.
- Thin with pasta water if needed.
- Divide among bowls and serve immediately.
