Go Back
+ servings
Print Recipe
No ratings yet

The Best Vegetable Bolognese

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Servings: 6 -8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1 ounce dried mushrooms I like porcini
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 carrots roughly chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper cored and roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons fresh or dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon fresh or dried oregano
  • 8 ounces fresh mushrooms finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine such as cabernet, merlot or pinot noir
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice about 2 lemons
  • 1 tablespoon miso
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 lb rigatoni pasta preferably whole grain*

Instructions

  • In a small pot, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the raw cashews and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
  • In a measuring cup, microwave 1 cup water for 2 minutes, or heat until boiling. Add the dried mushrooms and allow to soak for at least 15 minutes.
  • Using a food processor, finely chop the onion, red pepper, garlic and carrot. In a large pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the finely chopped vegetables, sprinkle with salt & pepper, and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Separate the dried mushrooms from the hot water (while reserving liquid for later) and finely chop them, discarding any hard pieces. Use the food processor to finely chop the fresh mushrooms (careful not to over blend, you want some texture here).
  • To the pot, stir in the tomato paste, herbs, chopped mushrooms and rehydrated mushrooms. Cook for another 3 minutes, then pour in the reserved mushroom liquid and red wine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, until liquid has reduced by half.
  • Strain the excess water from the cashews then add them to a blender. Add 1/4 cup water, lemon juice, salt, nutritional yeast, and miso then blend on high until smooth. Transfer the cream to the pot and stir together until evenly distributed.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and prepare the pasta as directed.  When pasta is tender, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking water then strain the rest. Add the cooked pasta and the reserved water to the pot with the bolognese. Stir until evenly coated then serve warm with fresh thyme and cashew parmesan (optional- see notes).

Notes

*Substitute gluten-free pasta to make this GF. You can use any shape pasta but we like it best with rigatoni.
To make your own cashew parmesan cheese, combine 1 cup raw cashews with 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
Click Here for Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts are for 1/8th of recipe