Bolognese Sauce
Lets talk Bolognese sauce, also known as “Ragu Alla Bolognese”. No, theres no bologna in bolognese sauce, actually, both bologna and bolognese sauce are references to their home of origin, Bologna! Wow! Who woulda thunk. Anyways, bolognese sauce, unctuous, rich in deep savory flavors, the perfect meaty sauce to drape over a bowl of tagliatelle, fettuccine, or pappardelle. Known for its incorporation of minced meat, the presence of a “soffritto” (also called “the holy trinity” by some dramatic food enthusiasts, this is just diced carrots, celery, and onion, this combination is a staple for many Italian and french dishes), a tomato base, and a long, low, and slow cooking process, this sauce packs a punch of the richest umami flavors and shines as the star that it is in any dish.
Here at Grounded Grub, we have our principals on sustainable, ethical, and accessible eating, but we bear no sacrifice when it comes to flavor. Purists may call us blasphemous, but while navigating our increasingly more complex food systems, creative substitutions in the name of progress, in the spirit of tradition, and with our heart in both the deep history and bright future of our cultures, should be embraced. Our bolognese is vegan, and to those who believe such a word combination is sacrilegious, we invite them to our table to try a bite.
Check out the recipe below!
Yield : Approximately 2 Quarts
Ingredients
1 28oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes : try to find a brand that includes no additional flavorings!
½ tsp Fenugreek
½ tsp Red Chili Flake
½ tsp Coriander
½ tsp Dried Basil
½ tsp Dried Thyme
½ tsp Dried Rosemary
½ tsp Dried Oregano
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Celery Seeds
½ tsp Paprika
¼ tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
1 Large Onion
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
3 Cloves of Garlic
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
10-12oz of Vegetarian Meat Crumble: We used Lightlife Smart Ground Plant-Based Crumbles
3-4 Cremini Mushrooms
3-4 Shitake Mushrooms
1 ½ Tbsp Soy Sauce
½ cup Shaved Carrot : While store-bought will yield the most consistent shavings, it will also include additional packaging. We encourage you to try and shave them yourself! You’re looking for strips of about the thickness of a match-stick.
Preparation:
Cut the bell pepper in half, place cut-side down on a parchment lined baking tray, and set under the broiler of your oven (or toaster oven) on high for 15 minutes (the skin should blacken and blister)
In the meantime, begin chopping your other vegetables. Since this recipe requires stage cooking (the process of adding ingredients to a pan or pot in stages, as to allow each ingredient to cook properly). Dice your entire onion, slice your garlic into thin pieces, dice your mushrooms, and mince your carrot shavings.
If your bell pepper is done cooking, take it out and let it cool, if not, move on to the next step and take out the bell pepper to cool whenever its ready. Once the bell pepper is cool enough to touch, dice it up and set it aside.
Put a large pot (preferably a heavy pot like a dutch oven; the yield of this recipe is approximately 2 quarts, so something at least 2.5 quarts in capacity is recommended) on medium heat, and add your olive oil. Once the olive oil is hot, add your onions and stir every 10-20 seconds. Cook these until they begin to develop some color, then add in your garlic, continuing to stir periodically.
Once the garlic has just begun to develop color, add in your carrots and mushrooms and continue to stir periodically. The mushrooms hold a lot of water, so its important that while stirring, you are making sure they come in contact with the bottom of the pan as to cook off as much of that water as they can as quickly as possible.
Once the mushrooms have cooked down and released much of their water, add in all of your spices and cook for 1 minute. Next, add in your soy sauce and meat crumble, making sure to break up the crumble and incorporate it into the vegetable mixture as well as you can. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add in all of the crushed tomatoes, as well as a quarter cup of water, and stir well. Once the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat until the sauce is just simmering and cover the pot. This should continue to cook for 1-3 hours (the longer the better, flavor-wise)! Throughout the cook time, the pot will need to be stirred every 5-10 minutes, making sure to lightly scrape the bottom of the pot to release anything that might be sticking.
After your chosen cook-time has elapsed, check your sauce for consistency and flavor! If its too thick, add some water and stir well, if its too loose, continue to cook uncovered until you’ve reached your desired thickness. Keep in mind that the piping-hot sauce will be substantially thinner than the cooled finished product.
Enjoy!
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see bell peppers and mushrooms in their own plastic containers, onions in plastic wrap, and garlic in a plastic mesh. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Fortunately, everything in this recipe other than the bell peppers and mushrooms will all last a while, so with those if you buy a bit more than you needed, you’ll have plenty of time to use them in the future. But with the bell peppers and mushrooms, those will go bad fairly quickly so buy with care!
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time.
Traditional Bolognese sauce recipes will use beef, dairy butter, and often cream. We have taken measures to reduce dependency on the large scale beef and dairy industries. That being said, if you have a local producer who engages in sustainable practices, or if this is the rare time of the year in which you consume meat or dairy, we encourage you to explore the traditional options.
Did you try this recipe? Tag @groundedgrub on instagram or facebook and hashtag it #groundedgrub!