Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese

This is one of my first ever vegan recipes. I have tried countless times to perfect this recipe and here it is! 

Baked tofu adds the texture of true bolognese meat sauce, as well as adding some protein to the mix. The carrots, celery, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, etc. offer an array of nutritional benefits such as chronic disease prevention, dietary fibre, relief from high cholesterol, among others. This pasta takes 45-60 minutes to prepare and then it's on your table, ready to eat (but you can let it simmer for as long as you want). If you make extra it keeps quite nicely and goes amazingly for lunch the next day on spaghetti squash.

*serves 4

Ingredients:

450 grams spaghetti (I used gluten free)

Tofu:

350 grams extra firm tofu (1 package)

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp neutral oil

Sauce:

4 tbsp Olive oil

1 yellow onion

2 medium carrots

2 celery stalks

3 garlic cloves

8 large cremini mushrooms

1 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tsp chili flakes

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp white miso paste

1 14oz can crushed tomatoes

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1/3 cup milk of choice or cashew cream (1/4 cup cashews + 3/4 cup water blended until smooth)

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (can use vegan version)

1 bay leaf

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450 F. Crumble the tofu in a small bowl and add the nutritional yeast, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and oil and toss to coat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread tofu mixture evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until it has turned a darker brown colour.

Chop the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms into fine pieces and heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat in a medium sized pot. Add the chopped veggies to the pot and stir occasionally. Cook for 10-20 minutes, until soft & starting to caramelize. Add the minced garlic and cook for ~30 seconds until fragrant. Add the second tbsp of olive oil and the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, pepper and salt to the pot and stir. Cook for about 1 minute.

Next, add the tomato paste and miso and stir until the veggies are coated and cook for 2-4 minutes. Then add the crushed tomatoes, baked tofu, milk, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaf. Stir until combined, put a lid on the pot and simmer on mediu low heat for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours, stirring occasionally (the longer the better). If the sauce is too waterly, let it simmer with the lid off until it has reduced to your preferred thickness.

While the sauce is stewing, cook your pasta to al dente. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and serve topped with chopped parsley.