A family-run pasta joint that’s thrived in Sydney’s inner west for 15 years may not be the first business you think of to embrace the possibilities of plant-based meat. But Alexi Spyridis, co-owner and head chef of The Italian Bowl is only too happy to tinker.
“We get continuous requests for vegan products,” says Spyridis. “It’s pretty easy for us – our base sauce is vegan and our pasta as well, because it doesn’t contain egg. We can cater for everybody, basically.”
The Italian Bowl was opened in 2005 by Spyridis, his wife, Jenny, and her parents, Mary and Vince Muscolo. Having all that family on hand means they didn’t lose many staff during the pandemic, though juggling their six children was tricky during the mandated period of remote learning. But the business itself proved quite resilient.
“We were very lucky,” Spyridis says. “We weren’t affected a lot. All the delivery partners kept us supported. Business was down, [but] the customers kept us going while we were shut [for dining in]. Slowly we’re heading back. We’ve got 38 seats at the moment; normally we’ve got about 95.”
Spyridis is currently turning his attention to this year’s World Meat Free Week via a collaboration between Deliveroo and Australian plant-based meat company v2food. The initiative features more than 70 chefs across Australia offering plant-based versions of their most popular meals through Deliveroo using newly released v2mince and v2burger products. Previously these alternatives have been geared towards people who don’t eat meat. But as carnivorous diners are increasingly becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of their meals, the aim of these sustainable products is simple: they cook and taste like meat, but they’re better for the planet.
For The Italian Bowl’s contribution to Meat Free Week, Spyridis is using v2mince in The Italian Bowl’s enduring bolognaise sauce. While the exact recipe for v2mince is a proprietary secret, it includes protein from legumes, oil from sunflowers and coconut fat to deliver a meaty taste.
“With a product like this it needs a lot less cooking because it’s only vegetable based,” says Spyridis. “You just fry off the onions, carrot and celery, then cook the mince with it and that’s it. It’s very simple.”
The finished sauce travels well too. Spyridis recommends topping it with vegan parmesan. And you can pair it with your choice of pasta (the restaurant’s bolognaise is available with either fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, penne, ravioli, tortellini or gnocchi).
If you’re new to meat alternatives, know this: even the other chefs at The Italian Bowl couldn’t tell the v2mince wasn’t meat. “It’s easy to work with,” Syridis says. “It came out looking exactly like our bolognaise.”
The Italian Bowl’s v2mince Meat-Free “Meat” Bolognaise Sauce
Serves: 10-12 people
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 large carrot, grated
2 large onions, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
4 bay leaves
1 cup red or white wine
1.5kg (3 x 500g cans) chopped tomatoes, peeled
1kg (2 x 500g cans) tomato paste
1L of water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
800g v2mince
Method:
Combine everything but the v2mince together in a large pot. Bring to boil, then simmer on low heat for 1 hour. Salt and pepper to taste.
Place the v2mince and sauce together in a pan with oil. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the mince is heated through. Serve with pasta of your choice.
World Meat Free Week 2020 runs from June 15 to June 21.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Deliveroo and v2food. Deliveroo and v2food have partnered to prove you can eat great food that is sustainable, without changing your order. Find out more.
