Pulled ‘pork’ pasta is both an aesthetically pleasing and delicious meal. By tweaking our recipe for the pulled “pork,” you can make vegan versions of shredded chicken and shredded duck.
The question on your mind right now is probably, “what could have been used to make the pulled pork?” Initially, you might have thought of tofu or seitan, but for this recipe, that’s not the case. Today, we are going to introduce you to a new pantry ingredient – jackfruit!
Whenever we’ve mentioned jackfruit to people, we receive comments like, “a fruit named jack?” or “how can you make something so savoury with a fruit which is sweet?” Well, although jackfruit is a bright yellow-orange, bubblegum tasting fruit, when it’s young/unripe it’s a rather beige colour and savoury, although it might be possible to get a hint of a sweet undertone to its flavour when eaten uncooked. Young jackfruit is excellent at holding the flavour of whatever it is seasoned/cooked with and is so fibrous that it can easily be pulled or shredded to mimic the texture and consistency of pulled and shredded meats.
Jackfruit contains good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, thiamine (vitamin B-1), riboflavin (vitamin B-2), niacin (vitamin B-3), pyridoxamine (vitamin B-6,) folate (vitamin B-9), fibre, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium zinc, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and even protein. You can find more information on the roles of these nutrients in the body in our Nutrient Index.
So, without further ado, here’s our pulled “pork” pasta recipe!
Bon Appétit!
Ingredients
Pasta
1 can Chopped Tomatoes
1 can Green/Young/Unripe Jackfruit in water/brine
Tomato Purée
1/2 of a Red Bell Pepper, diced
Ginger, minced
10g Vegetable Stock Cube
1 Bay Leaf
1 Shallot, diced
Garlic Powder
Soy Sauce
Sweetener of Choice (date syrup, coconut sugar, coconut amino, brown/white sugar….)
1tsp Lemon Juice
2tbsp Smoked Paprika
Paprika
Black Pepper
Onion Powder
Chilli Powder
Basil
1tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Sea Salt
10tbsp water
2-3 drops Liquid Smoke
0.5tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1-2tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Method
- In a saucepan, combine the ginger, shallots, red bell pepper, chopped tomatoes, 1.5tbsp of tomato purée, stock cube, lemon juice, 1tsp of your sweetener of choice, 1tbsp of soy sauce, bay leaf, water and all the herbs, seasonings and spices (to taste), excluding the smoked paprika.
- Turn the heat under the saucepan up to high, but after 5mins of the contents of the saucepan bubbling, reduce the heat so the sauce cooks down at a simmer.
- Open the can of jackfruit, drain out the water and rice the jackfruit pieces.
- Using your fingers, shred the jackfruit pieces by pulling at the top bits to tear them off and take out the seeds. You can also shred the thicker bits at the bottom by exerting pressure on them through pressing them firmly between your fingers or slicing them. The former results in a more rustic and authentic shredded meat appearance.
- In a bowl, season the jackfruit with the smoked paprika, 0.5-1tsp of garlic powder, 0.25tsp of onion powder, 0.5tsp of tomato purée, 4tbsp of soy sauce, 1tbsp of your sweetener of choice, liquid smoke, red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. Ensure the contents of the bowl are fully combined then leave the jackfruit mixture to rest as you complete the next step.
- Boil some water and add it to a pot containing your pasta of choice. Cook the pasta according to package instructions and drain the water out of the pot once it’s done.
- In a pan, heat up some extra virgin olive oil.
- Add your seasoned jackfruit to the pan a cook it for 5-10mins stirring occasionally to prevent burning.
- When your sauce has cooked down to your desired level, combine it with our pasta and heat them up together, on low heat, for approximately 5mins.
- Dish some of the pasta mix into a pasta bowl and top it with some of the jackfruit.
Serve
If you try the recipe, upload a picture of it to Instagram with the hashtag #lickyourplaterecipe so we can have a look at and like it.
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