Vegan bolognese sauce: It also delighted meat lovers, and it’s so easy to make! Here is the recipe

Although I don’t have the primary ambition to veganize all the dishes I ate before veganism, because I’m more attracted to researching new combinations, foods and flavors, I have the ambition to bring the vegan lifestyle closer to as many people as possible.

Food is an important element in our lives , that’s why sometimes I make a traditional dish, for which ingredients of animal origin are primarily used, so delicious that I confuse and delight everyone around me.

It took me three tries to come up with a recipe for a vegan Bolognese sauce that I can stand behind with pride, but it was worth it. It conquered the palate of everyone who tried it, and I hope yours will too if you decide to prepare it.

The preparation itself is simple, you will spend a little more than an hour. Although at first the list of ingredients seems long, most of it is spent on spices, vegetables typical for Bolognese and ingredients that are easily available.

So we have bulgur , oatmeal and lentils , and you will also need wheat gluten , which you can get in specialized stores or online . It is a very important ingredient in this recipe because it will connect the other ingredients, give a tougher, “chewy” texture to the sauce, very similar to the classic Bolognese , and significantly contribute to the share of protein in the overall dish.

The amounts listed in the ingredients are enough for one large pot – you should ultimately get almost two kilograms of Bolognese . You are, of course, free to adjust the amount to your needs, but I advise you to make a full pot without fear, just like me. You can keep the excess in the refrigerator for 3-4 days , and it does not lose its flavor even if you freeze it.

In addition to the classic combination with pasta, it is excellent with gnocchi , as a sauce for lasagna or cannelloni, and you can also use it as a filling for burritos , peppers , zucchini or ravioli.

I used part of the sauce for cannelloni, and froze part, so these days I plan to fill ravioli.

Ingredients for part 1:

• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 purple onions
• 1 carrot
• 5 cloves of garlic
• half a soup spoon of salt
• 200 g of bulgur
• 0.5 l of vegetable stock .

Ingredients for part 2:

• 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
• 3 tablespoons of oatmeal
• 1 soup spoon of spices for Bolognese or grilled meat
• 1 soup spoon of sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 3 soup spoons of lentils
• 0.5 l of vegetable stock
• 0.2 l of wine (black or white).

Ingredients for part 3:

• 150 g of wheat gluten
• 1 liter of vegetable stock
• 2 soup spoons of tomato sauce
• 1 soup spoon of tomato concentrate
• 2 bay leaves .

Remark

In order to achieve a “chewy” texture, you must use only wheat gluten (100%). If you used gluten flour (contains 75% gluten and 25% wheat flour), you would get a creamier texture.

Preparation

1. Sauté finely chopped onion, grated carrot and garlic in olive oil. Lightly add salt so that the vegetables release their liquid faster. This process, for this amount of vegetables, usually takes 10-15 minutes.
2. Add bulgur and cover with 0.5 l of vegetable stock.
3. Stir occasionally, and when the liquid has completely evaporated, add all the dry ingredients from part 2 and the BBQ sauce . Mix well and cover again with stock and wine . Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates.
4. Stir in the wheat gluten and leave for 2-3 minutes so that it is slightly combined with the mixture.
5. Then pour the remaining stock, sauce and tomato concentrate . Add the bay leaves and stir occasionally on medium heat and cook for at least 30 minutes . You are free to leave it a little longer, depending on how thick you want the vegan bolognese sauce . You can also thin the sauce by adding stock or water. If desired, season with additional spicy spices.

This can be a great opportunity for you to make your own vegetable stock , a full pot, and save everything left in the freezer for another time. In order for the base to have a more intense flavor, add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pot at the very beginning and briefly fry all the vegetables you have decided to use . Only after that add water and a pinch of spices.