Achieve your HbA1c, blood pressure, and cholesterol targets with expert nutrition support: I want to hit my target!

The Prediabetes Nutritionist

Explore Cuisine’s Edamame Spaghetti with Soya & Mushroom Ragu

Gone are the days when pasta had to be wheat-based or egg-based, nowadays, we are spoiled for choice – lentils, chickpeas, edamame, green peas and even rice! It also means that if you’re gluten intolerant, you don’t need to spend hours reading the ingredients on the package to ensure that the contents are safe enough for consumption. The best thing about legume-based pastas for me is their higher protein and fibre content.

Fibre is arguably the most challenging nutrient to get enough of in the typical Western diet. The UK recommended daily intake (RDI) for an adult is 30g a day, which would be very easy if we base our diets on unrefined starches, fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes. Unfortunately, a large percentage of the population find this difficult to achieve. Explore Cuisine’s Edamame Spaghetti provides over 23g of fibre per 100g, which is over a third of the daily RDI. Awesome, right?

Protein is another nutrient that many of us get obsessed about, and for a good reason! Protein is a vital component of many of our organs and tissues, and it is important for proper hormone and antibody functioning, growth, reproduction, lactation and survival. You may already know that protein from animal sources are much easier for our bodies to absorb than plant proteins. However, it doesn’t mean that plant proteins are useless. Some of them are better than others, and in fact, soya protein is one of the best sources of plant protein. It contains all of the essential amino acids our bodies need to function properly, and the proteins are as absorbable as animal proteins! Can you now tell which legume-based pasta is my favourite?

Explore Cuisine challenged me to reinvent a classic Italian dish using one of their pastas! Of course, I chose their Edamame Spaghetti, and I decided to pair it with a ragu sauce. Italian ragu is traditionally made with meat, but to keep mine vegan/vegetarian-friendly, I chose to make it with a combination of soya mince and mushrooms. As already mentioned, soya is an excellent source of protein and fibre, and also isoflavones that can help lower bad cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Mushrooms can be a fantastic source of vitamin D, which we need a lot of in the winter months when sunlight is scarce.

This recipe is straightforward to make, and of course, very flavourful and nutritious!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

Explore Cuisine’s Edamame Spaghetti with Soya & Mushroom Ragu

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Somi Igbene
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 35 mins
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4
  • Category: Lunch/Dinner
  • Cuisine: Italian-inspired

Description

High protein, high fibre edamame spaghetti with soya and mushroom ragu


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pack Explore Cuisine Edamame Spaghetti
  • 450g soya mince
  • 250g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium celery sticks, finely diced
  • 2 medium carrots, finely diced
  • 4 tablespoons, tomato paste
  • 1 large red onion, finely diced
  • 2 fat garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 large red chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons porcini mushroom powder
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 ½ vegetable stock cube
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Italian herb mix

To garnish

  • 4 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
  • 4 tablespoons grated parmesan
  • 4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions and fry for 12-15 mins, stirring frequently until softened. Add the tomato paste, herb mix and garlic and continue to fry for 4 mins. Add a small splash of water if the pan gets too dry.
  2. Stir in the soya mince, mushrooms and red chilli, cook for 3 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, vegetable stock cube and around 300ml of water. Mix well, adjust seasoning if necessary with salt and black pepper. Cook for 3 minutes on medium heat then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add small splashes of water to loosen if the sauce gets too thick.
  3. Cook the edamame spaghetti according to the package instructions. Then split among four bowls. Spoon a generous amount of the soya and mushroom ragu over the spaghetti. Garnish with parmesan, toasted nuts and fresh parsley.

Was this post helpful?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.