Katie Lee’s Mushroom Bolognese
Katie Lee Biegel loves a hearty Bolognese sauce and the mushrooms give the same feeling but are much lighter. Its a vegetarian dish that can easily be made vegan as well, and is great as leftovers!
Mushroom Bolognese
Ingredients 🌱✓
- 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for the pasta water
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional, can be replaced with a vegan creamer)
- 1 pound rigatoni or penne
- 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (dairy or vegan)
TECHNIQUE TIP: If you don’t have a food processor, use a knife to mince the mushrooms as finely as possible.
â“‹ VEGAN OPTION: To make this dish vegan, use an unsweetened milk and Parmesan alternatives. I’ve found that cashew milk is nice and creamy.
Directions:
- In a food processor, combine the carrot and all the mushrooms. Pulse until the mixture has the consistency of ground meat.
- Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes, until the garlic is tender. Stir in the mushroom mixture.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until the mushrooms begin to have some color and have released their water, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Add the red wine and cream, if using. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season aggressively with salt. Add the rigatoni and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Stir the rigatoni into the mushroom sauce. Add about half of the pasta water, more if it seems dry. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Serve immediately.
Pair It with this!
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo D.O.C.
We stumbled upon this lovely and expressive Montepulciano hailing from the back of the boot, right off the Adriatic Sea. An exhilarating bouquet of ripe cherry mingles with dried red roses and spice notes. The palate shows juicy length which develops with a toasted oak finish. Lay back in your hammock and shoot the breeze and you’ll be saying “tutto bene” like a local.