Vegan Ragu Bolognese
As the nights get longer and colder, we often turn to hearty dishes to warm our bodies and souls. This vegan twist on a classic ragu bolognese is the perfect recipe for cold winter weekends.
Packed to the brim with vitamins and fiber, it's so deep and rich and savory, you’ll be surprised there’s no meat, and even more surprised at how macro friendly it is.
It takes a little bit of time to make, but it makes a TON of food. And it freezes well, so once you make it, you can have more to go on short notice.
Of course you could add ground meat (or meat alternative) of your choice to bump up your protein.
Serve it with your favorite pasta, chickpea pasta, rice, or polenta. Heck, it's even good on its own!
INGREDIENTS:
5 tbsp olive oil
325g onion (about 1 large onion)
150g carrots (about 3 medium carrots)
125g celery (3-4 stalks of celery)
2 tbsp tomato paste
Garlic (4+ cloves (as much as you’d like))
300g portobello mushrooms (3 large mushrooms)
500g butternut squash (1 large butternut squash)
300g celery root (1 large celery root, aka celeriac)
300g beet root (1 large beet)
1 sprig rosemary (1-2 tsp dried)
3 sprigs thyme (1-2 tsp dried)
3 tbsp parsley chopped (plus more for garnish)
2 bay leaves
1 bunch basil (1 tbsp dried)
1 28oz can of San Marzano tomato puree
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-2 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
2-3 tbsp of balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 cups of vegetable broth (or water)
Salt + pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
Using a food processor, finely mince all your veggies. The pieces should be very finely chopped, but not turned into a puree. Start with the onion, celery and carrot. Then do the mushrooms and garlic. Then the squash, celery root, and beets.
We don’t want to mix all the veggies together during chopping because we won’t be cooking them all at the same time, and the order in which we cook the vegetables will be important!
First we will make a sofrito with the onions, celery and carrot. In a big pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over a medium high heat, then add the onions, celery and carrot to the pot. Add a pinch of salt to help draw out moisture and concentrate the flavors. Cook, stirring occasionally for 10-20 minutes, until the veggies start to turn deeply golden.
When the sofrito is golden brown, add the mushrooms, garlic and tomato paste and another pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have given up most of their water. Add the rest of the veggies and the herbs. Add one more pinch of salt. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the veggies start to look cooked. Add the tomato puree, vegetable stock, soy sauce, vinegar, and nutritional yeast.
Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning if you’d like.
Then, put the lid on and put it in a 325F oven for 2 hours.
After cooking, weigh the total amount (it will be around 2500g), then divide it by the number of servings you’d prefer.
Macros will depend on your serving size!
Macros for the entire dish:
Protein - 48.5g
Carbs - 207g
Fiber - 68.5g
Sugar - 75g
Fat - 71g
Created by: Ryan Cox