Eggplant and Mushroom Bolognese Sauce
Between the toothsome texture of the mushrooms and the smooth, creamy cooked eggplant, there’s no room to miss the ground meat in our eggplant and mushroom Bolognese sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 celery stalk
- 1 lb (450 g) eggplant
- 6 oz (170 g) Portobello mushrooms
- 4 oz (115 g) pancetta, diced
- 3 tbsp (40 g) butter
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine
- 1/3 cup (75 ml) tomato paste
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth
- 1 cup (250 ml) strained tomatoes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) milk
Instructions
- On a work surface, cut all the vegetables into chunks.
- In a food processor, finely chop the carrots with the onion and celery. Set aside on a plate. Still using the food processor, separately chop the eggplant, then the mushrooms. Finally, chop the pancetta.
- In a large skillet over high heat, brown all the vegetables together in the butter and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the pancetta, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
- Deglaze with the wine and let reduce until almost dry. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, strained tomatoes, bay leaves and pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring several times.
- Uncover and stir in the milk. Continue cooking for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the seasoning. Serve with pasta.
Between the toothsome texture of the mushrooms and the smooth, creamy cooked eggplant, there’s no room to miss the ground meat in our eggplant and mushroom Bolognese sauce.