Meatless Eggplant Bolognese

Meatless Eggplant Bolognese

Soffrito, mushrooms & eggplant are the secrets to making eggplant bolognese better than classic. You won’t miss the meat at all!

eggplant bolognese

Meatless Eggplant Bolognese

Ingredients
  

  • 3 small eggplants about 1 pound
  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms stems removed and sliced, about 2 pints
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery finely chopped
  • 2 medium carrots peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt divided
  • 2 cups dry red wine such as Chianti
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes 28-ounce
  • 8 ounces dry rigatoni or penne pasta
  • Fresh herbs
  • Parmesan or nutritional yeast

Instructions
 

  • Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Place the eggplant directly on the oven rack and bake until very tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool the eggplant while preparing the rest of the sauce.
  • Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add the mushrooms and brown, stirring occasionally, until they’ve shrunk by about half, 8 to 10 minutes. Set the pan aside.
  • Soffritto: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Pour the wine onto the soffrito mixture and stir to combine. Reduce the wine by half, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes.
  • Add the garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste and cook until thickened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
  • Peel and coarsely chop the cooled eggplant. Add the eggplant, reserved mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt to the soffritto mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.
  • Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until the sauce is quite thick, at least 1 hour.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Add the pasta and cook to al dente.
  • Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta from the cooking water to the sauce. Don’t worry about any pasta-cooking water that might fall into the sauce as well — this will help season and thin the sauce. Cook the pasta for an additional 2 minutes in the sauce.
  • Serve with additional fresh chopped herbs and nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese, as desired.

Notes

Recipe from kitchn.com
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