BEST BOLOGNESE EVER

I have to say this is one of my favorite recipes. I originally made this with ground turkey, beef stock and lots of oil. This is the "new" version. 

Read the entire recipe through to familiarize yourself with what you’ll be doing.  Next, get everything out that you need, cut it, chop it and measure it and put it all together in the area you’ll be cooking.  This is called  Mise en Place (meez n plos):  to put in place

You will need:

1 lb. ground Seitan or (equivalent amount of soy crumbles, rehydrated TSP or TVP)

Mirepoix (mirra-pwa) This consists of Carrots, onions and celery and is the base of many sauces and soups.

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped celery

(Hint:  Trader Joe's...and many grocery stores, now sells it already chopped and in one container)

1 bag sliced Crimini mushrooms –approx. 1 ½ cups- (white are not as good as they don’t have much flavor.  Crimini are baby portabellas)

6 cloves fresh garlic thinly sliced (or more if you like…I would do 12. Today I did!)

1 ½ tablespoons Herbs de Provence

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon fennel seed

2 teaspoon sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes (if you can’t find it get 2 cans diced and put one of them in the blender)

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

½ bottle of very drinkable red wine

1 cup Roasted Vegetable Stock
2 tablespoons Tomato paste
1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 375 degrees

Heat a Dutch oven on the stove for 2 minutes (dry, nothing in it).  A Dutch oven is something that can be used on the stove or in the oven…usually heavy bottom.  They’re selling one at Costco, a Kirkland brand, for $49.99 right now also at TJMax HomeStore and it’s a great knockoff of the Le Creuset one I have that cost $350.00.

Add the mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery) in and stir it around and flash sauté it using some of the stock or ¼ cup water.  After about 6 minutes, add the mushrooms.  Keep an eye on this and don’t let it burn or get too brown, just golden.  Keep stirring occasionally for another 7 minutes then add the garlic.  You don’t add the garlic too soon or it will burn and become bitter.

For those of you that wonder how you can saute without oil, here's a picture.  After about 3 minutes if you put a cover on it you'll get lots of liquid (steam) built up that will keep it from sticking.

Pour in the red wine and Roasted Vegetable Stock and begin reducing the liquid.  Do not cover the pan.  Add the Herbs de Provence, fennel, crushed red pepper , tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper.  You are going to reduce it until it’s almost gone (the liquid evaporates and the flavor intensifies).  When it is halfway reduced (half is gone) add half of the salt.

Add the ground seitan and the remaining salt.  Once most of the remaining liquid is gone, add the tomatoes to the sauce pan and mix well.  

Cover the pan and place it in the oven for an hour.  Check on it half way and make sure it’s not evaporating too quickly.  This would be caused by a lid that’s not very tight.  If it starts to dry out add more stock or water.

Taste for salt and you’re finished.  Add this to Whole Wheat Noil Pasta.  In the pictures included here I used no boil whole wheat lasagna noodles.  I just broke them into pieces and added them to the sauce.  Place the broken noodles at the bottom of a pan, single layer.  If you pile them on they will stick together.  Add some sauce then more noodles, sauce etc.  It's easier than boiling a huge pot of pasta.  When the noodles are al dente  your meal is ready.

Make a large batch of the sauce as it freezes well.