Roasted Vegetable Bolognese
A quick and easy meatless bolognese recipe that uses nothing more than minced roasted vegetables as its base. You won't believe how flavorful and luxurious this sauce is with minimal ingredients required! It's vegan, soy free and economical.
Ingredients
- 4 portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 large red onion, sliced
- 2 small or 1 large carrot, halved lengthways
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsps Dried Italian herbs
- 2 Tbsp Tomato puree
- 400 g (14 oz) Tinned tomatoes
- 300 g (10.5 oz) dried spaghetti, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C / 390F. On a large baking sheet, lay out your mushrooms, peppers, onions and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 mins.
- Once finished, allow the roasted vegetables to cool for about 5 minutes. They don't need to be cold, but we don't want them to let steam out in the blender which would encourage the mixture to puree.
- Now add the vegetables to the food processor and pulse until finely minced. Do not leave the motor running - just use the pulse button for short durations and make sure the mixture is churning properly so that it doesn't start to puree at the bottom.
- In a large saucepan (or a shallow casserole dish that can be used on the hob / burner), heat another glug of olive oil and sauté your garlic for a few moments until soft and fragrant. Add the vegetable "mince" and the dried herbs. Sauté constantly, being careful not to let any stick to the bottom, until the garlic and herbs are well mixed in.
- Add the tomato puree and continue to sauté and stir until it's all mixed together before adding the canned tomatoes.
- Allow to simmer on a very low heat while you prepare your spaghetti according to package instructions.
- Serve!
Notes
This makes a fairly small quantity, just about enough for 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 children, but if you want to scale it up go ahead! I would just suggest in that case that you mince the roasted vegetables in batches (depending on your food processor - mine wouldn't cope with a double batch at once but some might?)
As is usually the case, this tastes even better the next day so is suitable for making ahead. It also freezes well - just use within 6 months.
Calories: 622kcal, Carbohydrates: 103g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.003g, Sodium: 229mg, Potassium: 1374mg, Fiber: 11g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 8401IU, Vitamin C: 71mg, Calcium: 126mg, Iron: 5mg
