Mushroom ragu OR Vegetarian bolognese

I am very in love with a pescatarian. And not just any pescatarian, but one who misses beloved traditionally meat filled dishes. Bolognese sauce holds a special place in my heart as well. As a child my mother and I would break up the monotony of the week by having our Thursday night dinner at an italian spot down the street from our Upper West Side apartment, our usual the Rigatoni Bolognese. Frank Sinatra would play, the prelude to the pasta, an arugula salad and we would find ourselves lost in conversation (one particular time, SO lost that someone stole my mom’s bike from right outside the window, but thats a story for another time).

Recreating this dish for someone else I love, as an adult and as a chef is something im proud to have finally cracked. Personally I’ve yet to get behind beyond meat products in anything besides smash burgers, so this is my (almost completely) plant based take on a classic bolognese that I believe even a carnivore would find nostalgic.

Mushroom Ragu/Vegetarian bolognese

Mushroom “sausage”:

24oz mushrooms (no need to go fancy here, baby bellas, portobellos, or even white button mushrooms will work just fine in this application)

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Chili flakes

2 grated garlic cloves or 1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 fennel seed

1/2 tsp salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the Sauce:

olive oil

1 large Carrot (about a half a cup when chopped to a medium dice)

2 ribs of celery (about a half a cup when chopped to a medium dice)

1 medium onion sweet or yellow

3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon anchovy paste (optional if you’re keeping this completely vegetarian)

1/3 cup tomato paste

3/4 cup white wine

1 cup of whole milk

1 28 ounce can of tomatoes (crushed, or whole tomatoes crushed by hand) , 1 14.5 oz can of tomatoes (crushed or whole tomatoes crushed by hand), preferably san marzano (I know its annoying to specify but it really makes a difference)

1 star of anise (a cinnamon stick, or a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg will work in a pinch)

At the end:

The juice of half a lemon

1 tsp sugar

For the Mushroom sausage:

To clean your mushrooms wipe them down gently with a damp paper towel, I remove the stems, though trimming them at the end is fine too. The sauce is very forgiving. Chop the mushrooms into about inch sized pieces and add to a food processor with all additional sausage ingredients. Process until the mixture is almost a paste. Some larger chunks are ok. Remove the mushroom paste from the food processor and set aside. No need to wash your food processor here, you’re about to use it in the following step.

For the Sauce:

Add your carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to the food processor and blend until very finely chopped (just before it reaches the paste consistency of the mushrooms). Remove from food processor and set aside.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a large sauce pot over medium high heat, and once its hot add in your mushroom “sausage”, cook stirring occassionally until most of the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, and theyre starting to stick to the bottom of the pot, we’re creating a faux “fond” which is when meat leaves flavorful brown bits on the bottom of the pan as it cooks. This step will take about 10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened and most of the liquid has cooked off, remove the mushrooms from the pot and place back in their bowl. Do not rinse the pot.

Add a tablespoon more oil, and add your carrot, celery, onion mixture (otherwise known as a mire poix) to the pot, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, cook at medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the veggies have softened. About 5 minutes. Add your tomato paste and anchovy paste if using, and cook stirring occasionally until the tomato paste takes on a slightly deeper color, about 5 minutes. Add the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan removing all the browned bits, and cook for an additional 5 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

From here, add milk, the canned tomatoes, the star anise (or whatever warming spice substitution you’re using), and lastly the cooked mushroom sausage. Stir the sauce and taste. It should be slightly less salty than you want it to end up, your sauce will reduce over the next 90 minutes of cooking time. Keeping this in mind, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring the sauce to a boil, and then down to a low simmer. Cook, uncovered for 90 minutes. The sauce will reduce and turn very orange, Stir occasionally to make sure the bottom isn’t burning.

After the 90 minutes turn off the heat, remove the star anise, add add the lemon juice and sugar.

Voila!

This can be served with whichever noodle you like! We love pappardelle, topped with pecorino and chopped parsley, but the leftovers make great lasagne or baked ziti, and even dipping sauce for mozzarella in carozza. Try it as the sauce on a homemade pizza or with a bit of harissa addeas a base for shakshuka.

xo

Daisy