Big-Flavour TVP Ragù

I’d completely forgotten how good TVP can be until I started seeing it popping up again recently. I used to cook with it as a teenager, one of the original plant-based proteins! - so obviously I had to revisit it. The trick is flavour. TVP is brilliant at absorbing whatever you give it, but on its own it tastes of… not very much. So this ragù goes BIG: properly caramelised onion, carrot and celery, sticky tomato purée, tamari, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika and plenty of tomato, all cooked down until dark, glossy and intensely savoury. The other trick is texture. Rehydrate the TVP, then fry it until some of those little pieces start to catch and brown before adding the sauce. It makes such a difference. Finish with lots of thyme, tahini and a little balsamic, this is rich, comforting and absolutely packed with flavour. The opposite of sad rehydrated soya mince