Description
This Bolognese sauce without tomatoes is rich, savory, and packed with vegetables. A slowly cooked base of onions, celery, carrots, and fennel combines with mushrooms, ground beef, herbs, and roasted red peppers to create a deeply flavorful sauce with plenty of body — without tomato paste, canned tomatoes, or tomato sauce. Whether you avoid tomatoes because of an allergy or food sensitivity, histamine concerns, lectins, traditional dietary practices, or simply personal preference, this recipe offers a satisfying alternative to classic tomato-based Bolognese.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 onions, chopped
- 6 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, chopped
- 12 brown button mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 pound ground beef, preferably grass-fed and grass-finished
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup puréed roasted red peppers
- Hot water, as needed
- 1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 cup chopped fresh basil
- A few handfuls of spinach, arugula, or a combination
- Fresh basil, for finishing, if not using dried basil
Instructions
- Wash and chop all the vegetables and have a few cups of hot water ready.
- Add a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet or sauté pan over low to medium heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and fennel and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant but not browned. About halfway through cooking, add the salt to help the vegetables release their moisture.
- Add the mushrooms, Herbes de Provence, and black pepper. Stir well and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and garlic and break it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Combine it thoroughly with the vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes. If using sweet paprika instead of roasted red pepper purée, add it during this step.
- Add enough hot water to cover the mixture. Stir well, reduce the heat to low, and simmer uncovered.
- After 10 minutes, add the roasted red pepper purée and dried basil, if using. Continue simmering uncovered for at least another 10 to 15 minutes, or longer if time allows. Stir occasionally and add more hot water as needed.
- Add the spinach and arugula at the end and stir until wilted. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper.
- Finish with fresh basil, if using, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with your favorite gluten-free pasta and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, if desired.
Notes
Jarred roasted red peppers can be used. Rinse them before puréeing, especially if they are packed in a sweetened or acidic brine. You can roast, peel, and deseed fresh red peppers at home instead. If you do not have roasted peppers, substitute good-quality sweet paprika. Add more hot water as needed because paprika will not provide the moisture or body of the pepper purée.
Italian seasoning can replace the Herbes de Provence.
Cool and freeze the sauce in individual or family-sized portions for convenient future meals.