Eggplant Bolognese

Made this for dinner tonight with Rachel, Andrew, Lincoln, Steve and myself. As we finished our red wine, I had to settle for sherry, but other than that, I did pretty well sticking to the recipe. I added the whole can of tomato paste instead of what it asked for...(oops), and probably twice as much of the herbs. In the end, it was a decent dish. I would use regular milk in the future, and more of it...then again, I'm not sure if I'll do this one again. I have no real complaints, but it was just mediocre...and there are so many good jars of pasta sauce (I could even do organic) that I could just pour over some veggies and have an even better tasting pasta, for probably the same or less cost. I've not given up on Wholefoods.com yet...but that could be strike 2.

Serves 8

The flavor of this hearty sauce is as equally tasty over cooked whole grains or spaghetti squash as it is over pasta. The sauce freezes well for quick weeknight meals.

Ingredients

1 cup dry red wine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and chopped
12 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added crushed or diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided
1 pound whole wheat or other whole grain pasta

Method

Bring red wine to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook , stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and very tender and most of the wine has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add eggplant, mushrooms and rosemary and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, broth and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in almond milk and 2 tablespoons chopped basil.

To serve, cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Serve sauce over pasta and garnish with remaining basil.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 12oz/338g-wt.): 170 calories (5 from fat), 1g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 105mg sodium, 29g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 8g sugar), 6g protein