I just spotted this Mushroom Bolognese recipe on Chowhound and was inspired to share. I’m a huge mushroom lover, and though I haven’t tried making this yet, I can see how they can hold their own in terms of flavor and texture compared to the meaty traditional bolognese I posted earlier.
Give it a try and let me know how it turns out. And I promise to do the same.
Bhavna and Patrick, this one’s for you!
Preparation
Courtesy of Chow.com and Yasmin Le Sauce
Total: 60 minutes
Active: 25 minutes
Makes: 6-8 servings
- 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 celery ribs, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil, separated
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 lb crimini mushrooms, trimmed
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 dried red chili, crushed
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tbs tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 c madeira wine
- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1L (about 4 c) tomato puree
- Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a food processor, pulse the onion, carrot and celery together into small pieces.
- Add 2 tbs of oil to a large pot and heat over medium-high heat. Transfer onion, carrot and celery mixture to the pot. Add 1/4 tsp of salt, stir and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add 1/3 of the mushrooms to the food processor and pulse coarsely. Add another 1/3 of the mushrooms to the chopped mushrooms and pulse again. Add the last 1/3 and pulse until roughly chopped. The first batch will be almost pureed and the last should be mostly large pieces.
- Transfer the mushrooms to the pot and add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Stir and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid from the mushrooms evaporates.
- Add the remaining tbs of oil, the garlic, chili, marjoram and thyme, and stir. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and sugar, stir and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add the madeira wine and red wine vinegar and stir. Cook for one minute to allow some of the alcohol in the wine to cook off.
- Add the pureed tomatoes and the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes.
- To serve, ladle some sauce over cooked linguine or parpadelle and mix to coat the noodles well. Serve pasta onto individual plates and add a little sauce to the top of each. Drizzle with olive oil and/or shaved parmesan, if desired.
A Happier Meal 
The blog is bueno! Can’t wait to read through to the beginning. Saturday I made a bolognese and forgot to turn the stove off overnight–our sauce was essentially meatloaf (decent meatloaf, actually.)
Thanks for this delicious looking recipe. I’m going to try it since we are, as you noted, always on the lookout for innovative, veggie friendly options. I’ll come back here to let you know how it goes!