Vegetarianism is a choice. My step-daughter is a vegetarian.
Six days a week, she is both proud of and happy with her choice. But on the seventh day, not so much.
Why? Because once a week we serve macaroni for dinner. And the macaroni in our home is always dressed with the Oliva Family Macaroni Sauce—a rich, flavorful ragu that’s chock full of fork-tender cow and pig parts. It’s an Italian-American style of sauce that folks in some cities refer to (rightly or oddly) as “Sunday Gravy.”
For years I’ve tried to ignore the sad spectacle of my step-daughter pecking away at a plate of rigatoni with Trader Joe’s jarred marinara sauce, while the rest of us revel in the rapture of a tomatoey umami-gasm. But alas, I could no longer shoulder the guilt.
I vowed to free my step-daughter from the shackles of insipid jarred sauce! After all…if I was able to crack the code of an item as beastly and torturous as pusties, then surely I could figure out how to make a vegetarian macaroni sauce that tastes meaty.
And I did. Spoiler Alert: Mushrooms and soy sauce are the key ingredients.
Here’s the recipe…
THE INGREDIENTS
28 oz. Crushed
Tomato
28 oz. Tomato Puree
12 oz. Tomato Paste
2 cloves of Garlic
(crushed with side of knife and skins removed)
15 oz. Water
Olive oil
Red wine for deglazing (if needed)
Soy sauce
12 oz Veggie Italian Sausage, cut into 1” chunks
12 oz Morningstar
Grillers Crumbles (or similar item)
1 lbs. Mushrooms, quartered or sliced (I use a combo of Shitake and Crimini)
1 Onion, diced
1 lbs. Veggie Meatballs
Fresh Parsley and/or Basil (chopped)
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
THE ASSEMBLY
Step 1: Sautee onions and mushrooms in olive oil on medium-high heat. Add Morningstar Crumbles and garlic, sauté for 30 seconds. Deglaze with a healthy splash of soy sauce, and reduce. Remove and transfer to slow cooker.
Step 2: Add veggie sausage and sauté until browned on all sides. Remove and transfer to slow cooker.
Step 3: Add tomato paste and (stirring frequently) fry until darkened, but not burned. Deglaze with wine, scraping up any browned bits cling to the bottom of the pot. Remove and transfer to slow cooker.
Step 4: Add crushed tomato, tomato puree, veggie meatballs, and water to slow cooker. Stir to combine all ingredients. Taste and adjust with more soy sauce, if needed. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “Why the bloody hell is he putting soy sauce in an Italian dish?!” Trust me on this. Soy sauce tastes like liquid meat.
Step 5: Set slow cooker to low, and let it simmer away for 4-8 hours.
Step 6: Season with parsley/basil and cheese upon serving.
NOTES
Note: I use a slow cooker, because I can set it and forget it. You can certainly simmer the sauce on a stovetop, but who wants sit at home all day babysitting a pot of sauce?!
Note 2: I served this sauce to a group of high school cheerleaders when we hosted a Team Dinner last week. They all loved it and commented that they would not have guessed it was vegetarian. Well…all but the one cheerleader who demanded plain noodles with butter. Sigh…’merica!
Note 3: You’re probably wondering why there’s an Instant Pot in the photo above. Well…my original intention was to make this sauce in an Instant Pot—which would decrease the simmering time from hours to minutes. But the Instant Pot was an epic fail. The sauce scorched on the bottom of the pot, thus triggering the “Burn” warning before the Instant Pot reached high pressure. Unfortunately, the only photo I have on my phone is this one. I’ll replace it with a new photo the next time I make a batch.
Note 4: If any of you can figure out how to make this recipe in an Instant Pot without triggering the “Burn,” you may be eligible to receive a collector’s edition “Sal’s VTB Tote Bag!”
Note 5: Has it really been two years since I last posted? That’s a wee bit pathetic. I’ll try to do better in the future.
