vegan bolognese- grain of salt

this holiday period i have been delighted to have a dear friend home, back from california. this friend happens to be a vegan coeliac. just one of these dietary requirements is hard enough to live with, let alone both. i, however really enjoy the challenge of creating wholesome meals for her that fit her dietary needs, particularly when she is so incredibly grateful & likes everything (winning qualities in a guest, most cooks will agree).

this bolognese is one of my favourite of the aforementioned dairy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free recipes, which i made again the other day. now, i know a vegan bolognese will sound like a travesty for most italians/chefs/meat-lovers/bolognese aficionados but after several experiments, i can safely say this tastes as good as any bolognese out there. 

here’s how it’s done:

take one small tub of dried porcini mushrooms and place in a small bowl. cover well with boiling water and set aside. a dark liquid will form in the bowl. meanwhile, heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large saucepan. add one large chopped onion, four chopped garlic cloves, the leaves of one bunch of thyme, and two teaspoons of chilli flakes. cook until onions are translucent. add a grated carrot, grated zucchini and two cups of chopped button mushrooms and cook for five minutes. toss in the two tins of drained black lentils and stir. season generously with salt and pepper.

next, pour in the ‘stock’ made from the porcini mushrooms. remove the mushrooms from the bowl and chop roughly, before adding them to the bolognese. stir. add two cans of diced tomatoes and three tablespoons of tomato paste, then pour in a cup or two (or three) of red wine. cover all of the ingredients now added with vegetable stock, bring to the boil and stir. lower the heat (quite low) and simmer, with the pot covered.

the longer this cooks the better it will be. i recommend at least four hours. it doesn’t need as long as a meat lasagne but still, the flavours will benefit from a good, long cooking period. once the tomatoes & the stock have come together to form a nice, rich tomato-ey (not a word) sauce, it is ready. season to taste, toss in a large handful of fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley and serve with your favourite pasta. if you are on a gluten free diet i recommend rice or quinoa pasta. if you’re not a vegan, top with lashings of fresh parmesan.

this recipe will make a generous amount. it will serve four with considerable leftovers.i love it the next day on top of a crusty piece of toasted sourdough.  

note: no animals or gluten were harmed in the making of this recipe.