Vegetable Bolognese

Fact: I don’t eat very much meat. Technically, my diet is classified as “pescetarian” because the only meats I will eat are fish and seafood.

Fact: I never call myself a pescetarian because I think the word sounds snotty.

Fact: Contrary to popular belief, I, like most vegetarians, do not like eating salads all the time. I do not typically believe that a salad constitutes a meal. I prefer “stick to your ribs” kind of food.

Fact: Uncooked and/or steamed tofu is gross. Seriously people, why even put it on the menu?

Fact: This Bolognese is amazing. It is 100% vegetables and brings back every memory I have of eating the beef-based kind. With recipes like this I do not miss meat. Ever.

Fact: I ate this for dinner and then breakfast the next morning. Totally awesome.

Vegetable Bolognese

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Adapted from Giada Dr Laurentiis

I liked the base of vegetables that this recipe uses, but I thought it was a little skimpy on the tomato aspect so I added in a can of crushed tomatoes. It is absolutely perfect, definitely going to be showing up in my kitchen a lot more often. I used white button and cremini mushrooms, but feel free to play around to get different flavors.

1 pound pasta – I used rigatoni
3 small – medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces assorted mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, reserved liquid from the pasta and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs.

Toss the pasta with the sauce, sprinkly with parmesan and serve.

Tagged as: Bell Peppers, Carrots, Mushrooms, Onion, Tomato