Vegetarian Bolognese with Zoodles
A traditional bolognese requires a lot of fat and a heavy pour of wine (in your glass) as you will be sitting for hours, sometimes days for waiting on the flavors of love to marry. Unfortunately, I don’t always have time for a marriage made in heaven so I have to settle for two screaming kids and a quick bowl of pasta. Hence this recipe! I have tried many many ways to perfect the vegetarian bolognese but how does one do it without meat? I think I may have figured it out. Just when I thought it was impossible, the impossible showed up. Impossible crumbles and sausages are a tasty delight that I must say I wasn’t expecting. I partnered it with some zucchini noodles to feel less guilty about all the wine and butter I added to the sauce. Don't worry I got you vegans below in the recipe with the earth balance. Sit back, chop away, sautee, mix, match, and voila!
Recipe
Time: 45 minutes, Servings: 6
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
4 stems of celery, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
3 tablespoons butter or earth balance
1 cup red or white wine
1 cup veggie stock
1 pack of impossible veggie burgers, crumbles, or sausage (choose your favorite!)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 pack zucchini noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Melt butter or earth balance in a heavy sauce pot over medium-high heat.
Add onions, celery and carrots, and cook until soft, 8-10 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add can of tomatoes, either crushing tomatoes in your hands before adding (my favorite method), or crushing tomatoes in the pot with the back of a wooden spoon.
Stir and season with salt and pepper.
Add wine and veggie broth, and let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes to cook off the alcohol, stirring occasionally.
While sauce is simmering, brown your impossible burgers or crumbles in a separate pan, breaking them up as they brown.
Add crumbles to sauce and stir.
Separately, heat a skillet with a glug of olive oil over medium-high heat until pan is hot. Add zucchini noodles and sautee, tossing with pasta tongs until al dente 3-5 minutes. Do not overcook!
Serve sauce atop zoodles and enjoy!
