Hello Lovelies, you may have noticed that I was a bit missing in action here the past two weeks. But I enjoyed some well deserved vacation with my family. Even though I was ambitious to keep posting and adding new recipes on the blog, somehow I also needed a little break and therefore enjoyed some time offline to get some rest and also to recharge my creativity.
But now I'm back with lots of new recipes I will post over the next weeks. And the first one is an absolute family favorite: a vegan Bolognese sauce. If you ask hubby about his favorite dish, his answer is always: Spaghetti Bolognese. I think as a kid he practically lived of it, so before he proposed I kind of had to proof I was able to cook a good bolognese sauce (not kidding here :-). A lot happened since then, I turned vegan and still want to get to his heart with a good bolognese, that's why I spent a lot of time to create the perfect recipe that everyone would love and no one would miss the meat in it. And I'm very proud to share this recipe with you today.
I would even go as far as to say that a lot of meat eaters would not even recognize that the bolognese is vegan, since the taste and consistency is so similar and full of flavor.
So here is the recipe:
- 200 gr 7 oz smoked tofu (or regular tofu) extra firm
- 1 eggplant
- 250 gr 9 oz mushrooms (e.g. champignons)
- 1 medium sized onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 sticks celery
- 3 carrots
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- pinch of sugar
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 2-3 sprigs rosemary
- 600 ml 20 oz Tomato Passata (or canned tomatoes)
- 1 Tsp veggie bouillon or paste
- 200 ml 7 oz red wine
- 1 bay leave
- salt
- pepper
- italian herbs
- Crumble the tofu with your hands (make sure to use extra firm one)
- Cut the eggplant, mushrooms, celery and carrots into small cubes
- Chop the onions and garlic cloves
- Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a pan
- Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent
- Add the crumbled tofu and roast for 4-5 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Add the mushrooms and sauté for another 2-3 minutes
- Add the eggplants, celery and carrots one by one and sauté everything
- Pour in the tomatoes paste and sugar and mix it well
- Deglaze with the red wine
- Add the tomato passata or canned tomatoes, the fresh herbs and the bouillon, bring to a boil
- Cover the pan and let the bolognese simmer for 2-3 hours on low temperature
- Take out the bay leaf and the bigger rosemary sprigs
- Season to taste with salt, pepper and some Italian herbs
- Serve with pasta and vegan parmesan
We ate the Bolognese with Parpadelle Pasta which was delicious, but you can serve it with every variety you and your family likes best. I also had them with zoodles (zucchini noodles) and that was a perfect match too!
Hubby really loves this recipe and it makes me so happy that he even is telling everyone, how this totally changed his view about vegan food. What convinced him most is for sure the consistency, with the tofu, the mushrooms and the eggplant, you get this chunks that are so delicious and hearty.
So I tried this sauce on many Bolognese lovers big and small and never received one complaint, everyone loved it so far. I can't wait for you to try it and let me know how your family and especially the meat lovers liked it!
You can easily freeze the sauce as well or just double the recipe, so you always have a pasta sauce ready, when there is no time to cook it.
Love Verena
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