Rachael’s Vegetarian Sausage Ball Sauce

To mark World Vegetarian Day today, we’re sharing a recipe from Rachael, one of the team at FareShare Greater Manchester.

Rachael says it’s “One of my staple veggie recipes is this one that I made up in the early 1990s. For it to be entirely vegan, either omit the Worcestershire sauce, or use a vegan alternative. Similarly, if including wine, use a vegan brand that’s not made with animal-derived fining agents.”

Rachael’s Vegetarian Sausage Ball Sauce

Ingredients

• 150g of dried Sosmix or similar veggie/vegan sausage mix – (My preference for this recipe is the original Sosmix product, which you can buy online from the vegetarian and vegan retailer Alternative Stores https://sosmix.com/where-to-buy-sosmix/ or buy loose from some zero waste shops)
• 1 large onion, or 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 2 cans of chopped tinned tomatoes
• 2 or 3 medium cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped or crushed
• 1 level teaspoon of dried mixed herbs
• 1 level teaspoon of dried sage
• 1 medium bay leaf
• A small pinch of paprika
• A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, or a vegan alternative (bear in mind that the original Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce and some other brands contain anchovy extract)
• Half a glass of red wine (optional)
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
• A very small pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of sundried tomato paste
• I also sometimes add a half teaspoon of rose harissa paste to the pan if I want to give the recipe a bit more zing.
• Half a pint (approximately 300ml) of boiled water
• Pasta of choice
• Cooking oil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method

• About 15-20 minutes beforehand, put the dry sausage mix into a bowl and add about a teaspoon of either dried mixed herbs or dried sage.
• Mix together and then add the amount of cold water recommended by the sausage mix’s manufacturer and mix again into a sausage-like paste. (If you’re using Sosmix, the ratio is 150g of Sosmix to 250ml of cold water).
• If using other dried sausage mixes and the paste seems a little crumbly, adjust the consistency by adding a little more water and stirring the mixture, but take care not to make it too wet because it has to absorb more liquid during the cooking process. It just needs to be the right consistency to hold together. Set the mixture aside to give the ingredients time to hydrate.
• Boil a kettle and add about 300ml (half a pint) of boiled water to a stock cube in a jug and stir until dissolved. Set aside.
• In a large pan, lightly fry the chopped onions over a medium heat in a small amount of cooking oil. As they start to become translucent, add the cracked black pepper and paprika and continue to fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly to release the oils in the spices and to ensure that they don’t burn.
• When the onions are almost done, add the chopped garlic and stir for just a couple of minutes until it becomes translucent, taking care not to let it burn, or it will become bitter. Now add the hot stock, chopped tomatoes, sundried tomato paste, wine, dried herbs, bay leaf and Worcestershire sauce, and the rose harissa paste, if desired. Add a tiny pinch of cinnamon at this point if you wish, but bear in mind it’s a very strong tasting spice. I recommend adding only a tiny amount first, then stir and taste the sauce, and only add more cinnamon according to your taste, if required. If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, leave it out of the recipe. It’s only there for a tiny degree of background warmth.
• Stir and leave on a medium heat to simmer.
• The sausage mixture should be firm enough to work now, so use a teaspoon to scoop out small portions about the size of a 10p coin and then use your hands to roll the portions into balls. When you have used up all the mixture, place the balls into the sauce in the pan, pushing them down well into the sauce so they are completely covered. Leave to simmer for about half an hour, during which time the sausage balls should expand and become soft as they absorb the flavoured stock. During this stage, you can gently stir the mixture from time to time, occasionally turning the sausage balls over to ensure that they have evenly taken on the cooking liquid.
• Whilst the sausage mixture is cooking, separately cook a pan of your favourite pasta, or you might like to serve the dish with steamed vegetables, or anything else you fancy as an accompaniment.
• When the sausage mix balls are soft and have increased in size and the sauce is reduced, the dish is ready.
• Take out the bay leaf.
• Serve with your favourite pasta or side dish and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil to finish it.

  A nice veggie, (but not vegan), variation is to cook the sausage balls and sauce, as well as some pasta shapes in a separate pan, then when both are fully cooked, mix the two together, place in an ovenproof dish, put some roughly torn chunks of Buffalo Mozzarella cheese on top and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted into the rest of the dish. You could use a firm vegan cheese alternative as a non-dairy option.