If you’re searching for the legendary spicy kick, but without the pork, then Ve-De-Ya is the vegan ‘nduja paste’ you’ve been looking for.

Not so long ago Nduja was the paste on everyone’s lips. Trendy? It was the spicy, spreadable pork paste from Calabria that swept all before it. If you weren’t eating Nduja, then your foodie cred was going to be very low indeed.

However even dedicated meat eaters weren’t asking too many questions about how it was made. That’s because it’s created using meat from the pig’s head, pork trimmings , fatback, and roasted Calabrian chilli peppers all stuffed into a sausage skin and smoked. You then scoop it out to use it. It is delicious with almost anything, but it’s not very vegan.

Now it is as the British ingredients brand, Belazu Ingredient Co. has launched of its Ve-Du-Ya®, a vegan ‘nduja paste in a jar in Waitrose costing. Now anyone can enjoy a bit of spice on their pizza, in their pasta, stirred through sauces or just spread on bread.

Belazu ferment the same traditional Calabrian Chillies used in classic ‘nduja, to add a tangy saltiness, before making a few substitutions replicate the traditional spicy, spreadable sausage but with zero meat. 

We tried it stirred into cooked pasta and it made a very fast and very tasty meal as well as a pretty hot one. You don’t need much to blow your head off so a jar goes a long way. Officially it’s supposed to be kept in the fridge and eaten within two weeks of opening, but as it has no meat I would be inclined to not worry. My take is as long as my food isn’t actually crawling out of the fridge, it’s probably okay still.

We also thinned down a spoonful with some oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil and honey to make bright red hot sauce we could drizzle over grilled tofu, and that worked very well.

And yes pizzas, it works so well with pizzas but that’s not so surprising as it was initially launched trade only into Pizza Pilgrims where it was so popular Belazu decided to sell it to the public too.

Available now on the Belazu website, from Booths and Planet Organic. 

Launching in Ocado in July and Waitrose in August. 

Belazu’s Ve-Du-Ya® RRP: £4.35