Vegan Bolognese has never looked so delicious! There is something so perfect about the combination of mushrooms and tomato sauce leaving each bite with an extraordinary smoky favor! The key to a delicious bolognese, of course, is time. The longer you allow all of the ingredients to slowly cook together, the flavor profile gets deeper and richer, resulting in a sauce that is absolutely incredible. The same principle applies to this mushroom version. With this recipe, you can experience the same classic richness that the bolognese is known for without any meat.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Place a large dutch oven over medium heat and add the olive oil. Next add in the prepared

onion, carrots & celery. Season with a pinch of salt & cook until slightly golden, about 5-7

minutes.

• Next, prepare & add the mushrooms to your dutch oven in batches. While the first batch

cooks, finely dice the next batch of mushrooms, taking a moment to stir the mushrooms in

the pot every now and again. In the time that it takes the first batch to cook, you will be

ready to add the next batch. Once all of the mushrooms have been prepped and cooked,

add in the garlic, thyme, smoked paprika & chili flakes (if using). Cook for 3 minutes.

• Remove the reconstituted wild mushrooms from the hot water, reserving the soaking water,

and finely chop the wild mushrooms. Add the chopped wild mushrooms to the pot and

increase the heat to medium high. Add in the red wine and deglaze all of the caramelized

crust from the bottom of the dutch oven. Once the wine had almost evaporated, add in the

soy sauce, strained tomatoes, and reserved wild mushroom soaking water.

• Season with salt & pepper. Move the dutch oven to your smallest burner, cover, leaving a

small gap between the lid and the pot. Reduce the heat all the way down to low and let the

sauce barely simmer for at least 1 hour (the longer it cooks the better the flavor will be)

Check in on the sauce throughout the hour, stirring occasionally & simmering it until the

sauce is thick and rich. Adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper as necessary and remove

from the heat.

• Once your sauce is ready, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season the water generously

with salt, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.

• While the pasta cooks, fry the rosemary. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium

heat. Once the oil is nice and hot, but not smoking, add in the fried rosemary (it should

sizzle the moment it hits the oil). Remove the pan from the heat, swirl the rosemary around

in the oil & reserve for garnish.

• Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add pasta water to the

bolognese to just loosen it up a bit. Divide pasta between your plates, spoon bolognese

over pasta, and top each plate with a split ball of burrata. Spoon the fried rosemary & olive

oil over the burrata & garnish with flaky salt.