Bolognese sauce was probably one of the first Italian pasta sauces I cooked. (Although looking back, I am not sure if I can even refer to it like that. Now I know it was so far from being authentic!). Years later I learnt how to make it the proper, Italian way. And now, for some time already, I have felt I had to make Vegan Bolognese sauce.
Why vegan Bolognese? There are at least two reasons.
Firstly – both of my daughters haven’t been eating meat for a while now. But they used to love the classic pasta Bolognese.
Secondly – if we care about ourselves and our planet, we all should reduce the amount of meat we eat. This plus a few other suggestions are the recommendations of scientists from 16 countries gathered around EAT-Lancet Commission that defined a healthy and sustainable diet.
I am obviously not trying here to convert all the meat-eaters to feed on greens only. Furthermore, I have never hidden that I do eat meat occasionally. But I do think that it is healthier for us and better for the environment to have more plant-based meals. Especially if they look and taste the same as their meaty prototypes.
You may wonder how it is even possible for the mushroom Bolognese to taste the same as the one cooked with beef and pork? I myself think there must be a bit of magic happening in the pot while the sauce is cooking!
Because I just replaced the meat with the champignons and some red lentils, and then prepared the vegan sauce almost exactly the same way as the meaty one. But, miraculously, the final dish – Vegan Bolognese sauce – really tastes like the original. You can either believe me (I checked it on many people) or even better – you can test it yourself!
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