Our Veggie Kitchen

Traditional Bolognese Sauce is made with butter and milk and pigs and cows and calves. It's a vegan nightmare. At its essence, though, I think Bolognese is the interplay between various fats and that, I can reproduce. I added celery and portabella mushrooms for flavor and texture. Celery is an amazing substitute for meat in pasta sauce. I also added a little extra tomato sauce just because I like my Bolognese a little more tomato-ey.

I served it with my first ever attempt at french bread. It was pretty good the first day . . . can you screw up fresh breada? . . . the second day, well, maybe I should have made stuffing cubes.



Mushroom Bolognese
4 tbs Earth Balance Margarine
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 portabella mushroom, minced
2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tsp Better than Bouillon No-Beef Base*
28 oz whole tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
1 lb spaghetti or other pasta

* No-Beef base can be substituted for 1 tbs vegan Worcestershire sauce

For the dried porcini mushrooms, put in bowl with a little water. Cover loosely with saran wrap and microwave for about a minute. Set the bowl aside until needed.

Melt the margarine in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic and porcini mushrooms. Saute until the onions are soft. While the mixture cooks, mince the porcini mushrooms and add to pan, along with the liquid. Add the soy milk and simmer briskly until the milk has mostly evaporated. Add the wine and, again, simmer briskly until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste and bring back to a boil. Cover and simmer, beaking the whole tomatoes apart with a wooden spoon as it simmers. Simmer for 20 minutes to an hour. Stir into or pour over cooked pasta.

5 Servings: 592 cal (12g fat, 91g carbs, 20g protein)