Before I became vegan (permanently), my wife and I traveled to Italy. In a small restaurant in Florence, there was one dish on the menu that called out to me, Wild Boar Bolognese. It was so different from any spaghetti sauce I had before, even any meat sauce I’ve ordered. The Bolognese actually had a chew to it. As I reminisced about our trip to Italy, I challenged myself to veganize several of the dishes we enjoyed most. The first vegan creation is my Easy Vegan Bolognese Sauce!
What is Traditional Bolognese Sauce?
Originating from the city of Bologna in Italy, Bolognese sauce is a meat-based sauce that is cooked slowly to develop a thick sauce with deep flavors. The base of Bolognese sauce is onion, celery, and carrots. Minced meat (typically beef and fatty pork) is added with white wine, milk or cream, and a little tomato paste. This is simmered for hours until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened.
There are two things to note about a traditional Bolognese sauce; there is no garlic and there is relatively little tomato. This is due primarily with Bologna being in Northern Italy where tomatoes do not grow in the same abundance as they do in Southern Italy. You’ll tend to find that heavy tomato-based sauces are from Southern Italian cuisine.
How is Bolognese Sauce Served?
That may seem like a strange question. Over pasta, right? Well yes, but traditionally it is over Tagliatelle, which is a thick, flat, egg-based pasta. Additionally, it is used in the preparation of lasagna with Bolognese.
Challenges to Make Bolognese Sauce Vegan
Traditional Bolognese sauce relies heavily on the richness of the meat, fat, and dairy for its wonderful depth and texture. I could have used the plant-based meat-substitute crumbles that are readily available at my grocery store. Instead, I opted to recreate the chew and fattiness of meat using green lentils and finely chopped walnuts and mushrooms. Properly prepared, mushrooms have a meaty-like texture. The walnuts add fat to the equation and the green lentils add an element of earthiness and bulk.
To replace the dairy in the Bolognese sauce I used oat milk by Oatly. I find Oatly’s oat milk best replicates the taste and texture of cow’s milk. Unsuccessfully using soy, almond, cashew, and rice milk in the past when trying to replace dairy, Oatly’s milk is much more creamy than the other alternatives.
Something is Missing
During the long simmering process of traditional Bolognese, the fat in the meat renders and contributes to the liquid in the sauce. However, walnuts do not release noticeable fat in the cooking process. Therefore, I needed to fill that void in creating a sauce without adding some type of oil (walnut or olive).
I decided to borrow from Southern Italy and add tomatoes. Technically, this may make the sauce more similar to a Neapolitan-type sauce. But Neapolitan-type sauces do not use minced or finely chopped meats or dairy in the sauce. So, is it a Bolognese or Neapolitan sauce? In my opinion, with the finely chopped walnuts and mushrooms, lentils, and oat milk, my Bolognese Sauce Gone Vegan more closely resembles a Bolognese sauce.
To Garlic or Not to Garlic, That is the Question!
Traditional Bolognese is not made with garlic. I know some people are put off by the taste and smell of garlic. I am not one of those people.
Garlic has wonderful health benefits and I try to incorporate garlic into most dishes I cook. Ultimately, I decided to include garlic in my Bolognese, but I did so sparingly. The garlic is not noticeable in the sauce, so feel confident this sauce can be served with a romantic meal!
What Type of Pasta to Serve with the Sauce?
The Bolognese sauce that I had in Florence was served on tagliatelle. But I could not find a vegan version of tagliatelle at my grocery store. If I had more time, I would have attempted making egg-free tagliatelle at home. Hmm…future recipe post, maybe?
I am trying to incorporate more whole grains in my diet. Therefore, whole wheat penne or spaghetti were my best options, and I chose whole wheat spaghetti. Traditional Bolognese is never served in Italy with spaghetti, but elsewhere in the world, it is common. In fact, it is likely if you have had Bolognese sauce in the United States it was served over spaghetti.
Don’t Rush the Process
All other components to my Easy Vegan Bolognese Sauce recipe are very traditional. Minced onions are sweated and sauteed with the carrots, celery, and mushrooms. White wine is added and allowed to cook off the alcohol before adding the walnuts and lentils. The tomatoes are cooked down for several minutes and then the oat milk, tomato paste, and herbs are added. These 30 minutes are the cooking activities that take the most effort. The next 3 hours are the activities that take the most patience.
Allow the sauce to simmer for 3 hours or more, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste during the cooking process but be careful not to overdo it with either the salt or the pepper. Tomatoes can be acidic. If you find that the sauce is too acidic, add a teaspoon or two of sugar or maple syrup.
Serve over the pasta of your choice and consider a simple salad or sauteed kale with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice as a side dish. My Easy Rustic Whole Wheat Bread may be a nice complement as well!
Enjoy!
Taking a classic Italian sauce and making it into a delicious vegan-friendly sauce! Perfect to serve with your favorite pasta, in a lasagna, or even over roasted zucchini or eggplant! Set the stovetop burner on medium-high heat. In a 6-quart pot, add the vegetable broth and onions and cook on the stovetop. Stir the onions frequently until they are translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the carrots, celery, and garlic to the pot. Sautee the vegetables, stirring frequently for 4 to 5 minutes (add small amounts of vegetable broth if original broth has fully evaporated). Add the mushrooms to the pot. Continue to sauté the contents in the pot for roughly 6 minutes (resist adding any additional broth). When the vegetables start to caramelize (particularly the onion, garlic, and mushrooms) add the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping any brown bits from the pot with a wooden spoon. Allow the alcohol to cook off (roughly 5 to 7 minutes). Lower the heat to medium. Add the walnuts and lentils to the pot and stir. Add the tomatoes (use the entire contents in the can) to the pot and stir. As the tomatoes get hot, break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon (this step is unnecessary if you use crushed tomatoes). Add the plant-based milk and tomato paste to the pot and continue to stir until the tomato paste has dissolved into the liquid. Add the oregano, basil, and bay leaf. Bring the contents of the pot to a simmer and then lower the heat to low. Add the nutmeg and stir. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for three or more hours, stirring every 15 to 30 minutes. Continually taste the sauce and add the salt, pepper, and sugar (or maple syrup) as needed. Cooking on low heat, it will take the lentils at least 2 hours to become soft enough to eat in the sauce Prepare the pasta of choice according to package directions Serve the Bolognese Sauce Gone Vegan over the pasta in a shallow bowl and garnish with fresh herbsEasy Vegan Bolognese Sauce
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