I love cooking with only vegetables and I am always looking for new recipes that are delicious and has healthy as can be. This Vegan Bolognese recently topped my list because it is so delicious and seriously packed with so many different vegetables and flavors. I also love it because it is as satisfying and filling as a traditional meet bolgonese but without the heaviness I used to feel from eating a pasta with meat sauce. I served this over vegan pasta and with a simple green salad on the side. The best part...My husband and kids ate it too.
This recipe below was created by Mark Strausman, head chef of Fred's restaurant of Barneys and was a huge hit with customers. Chef Strausman started experimenting cooking with more vegetables to support his son vegan diet. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
I made a few notes at the bottom of the recipe for the changes I added.
1 box of dried (vegan) eggless pasta
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
3 gloves of garlic
1 large red onion
2 sweet red peppers
2 sweet yellow peppers
1 large bulb of fennel
1 green zucchini
2 carrots
1/2 lb of button mushrooms
1 small head of cauliflower
1 hot red pepper (optional)
1 eggplant
1 cup of red wine
48 oz of canned Italian tomatoes
6 sprigs of fresh oregano
1. Purée the canned tomatoes and set aside.
2. Mince the onions and garlic separately from the rest of the vegetables (you can use a food processor on the pulse setting).
3. Mince the rest of the vegetables and set aside (you can use a food processor on the pulse setting).
The minced Vegtables
4. In a large soup pot, heat the extra virgin olive oil with the garlic and onions. Mix slowly until the onions are translucent.
5. Add the rest of the of the vegetables and cook until they are wilted.
6. Add the red wine and cook together with vegetables for 1 minute.
7. Add the tomatoes and cook on a simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the sauce has a rich color. Let cool and refrigerate. It will be even better the next day.
8. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente. Save 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
9. Reheat the sauce in a pot. Add in the strained pasta and cook for an additional 2 minutes, making sure the pasta does not stick.
10. If sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water that was saved.
11. Place pasta on the serving dish. Take remaining sauce and continue to cook until thick and place on the top of the pasta.
* I used half the amount of oil the recipe called for. I used 1 1/2 tablespoons instead of 1/4 of cup. I minced the onions in the food processor which made them release some of their juices so that I didn't need that extra oil for sauteing the onions and garlic.
*I substituted a white onion for the red onion
* I omitted the hot pepper so I could serve it to my young kids. Instead I added hot pepper flakes to my individual bowl and loved the extra spice.
* I added chopped fresh basil
* my husband added a tiny bit of extra olive oil to his bolognese because he felt it was missing the consistency of a meet bolognese that has that oily finish from the meat renderings. With the extra hot pepper flakes and tiny bit of extra olive oil, my husband said he would swap the healthier version any time!
