Vegan Bolognese Sauce

Hello, Our lovely readers!

Yesterday, I decided to make Spaghetti for dinner. While I was in the kitchen, I decided to take it a step further. We just had gone grocery shopping, so I had tons of fresh veggies to choose from. The sauce was so good that Jasmine (my 10 year old daughter) asked for a second helping of just the sauce!

This does require a lot of chopping, but it is so worth it! (luckily, I had my favorite little helper to assist) So put on some music, get yourself a nice beverage and get busy!

You will need:

1 eggplant
1 zucchini
mushrooms (I used portobellos and crimini)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 stalks of celery
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green bell pepper
minced garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 large can tomato sauce
rosemary
oregano
basil
thyme
red pepper flakes
salt pepper
a teaspoon-ish amount of Earth Balance
a few drizzles olive oil
a few dashes of liquid smoke (I know it sounds crazy, but trust me)
red wine (optional)

Dice up all veggies into small pieces. set mushrooms, onion and garlic aside.

Place mushrooms in pan with some olive oil. add the liquid smoke. (this is going to add a bacon like flavor to the sauce, and the portobellos add a bit of meat like texture) Saute, and set aside.

Saute the onions and garlic. add the rest of the veggies and saute. Once everything is looking done, add the mushrooms in. Stir to combine.

De-glaze pan with red wine.  Not much, just about a 1/3 of a cup. (you can skip this step if you like)

add in the tomatoes, sauce and seasonings (to taste. I just wing it)

Stir to combine all ingredients. Cover and simmer for at-least 20 Minutes (really, the longer it simmers, the better it gets)

Serve with your favorite pasta. ( I used Trader Joe's brown rice pasta) This would also be great in your favorite lasagna recipe, any recipe that calls for a marinara sauce, or even over steamed veggies.

Enjoy!