Thick and saucy slow-cooker vege Bolognese

This sauce is such a favourite because it’s rich, hearty and satisfying, while also being a big dose of vege! It couldn’t be further from a watery sauce — in fact, it’s so thick and luscious we had to water it down to make lasagne.

Make this recipe throughout autumn, spring and summer when these vegetables are plentiful, cheap and at their best, loading up the freezer to get you through winter or whenever you need a quick meal. Heat up a container, cook some pasta and you’ve got the ultimate bowl food, faster than you could order from your favourite takeaway.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 brown onions, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 2 carrots, finely diced
• 2 celery sticks, finely diced
• 1 eggplant, diced
• 400g swiss brown mushrooms, diced
• 200g Kalamata olives, pitted and diced
• 500g ripe tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup red miso paste*
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 chicken-style stock cubes
• 3 tsp ground sweet paprika
• 700g passata
• 1 potato, peeled and grated

*If avoiding gluten and soy, ensure miso paste is gluten and soy free — soy-free miso is hard to find, but can be done!

Method

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and continue cooking for a couple of minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
2. In this order, add carrot, celery, eggplant, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, miso paste, maple syrup, stock cubes, paprika and passata to slow cooker. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
3. 4 OR 8 HOURS LATER … Add grated potato, fold through, incorporating well. Cover and cook for a further 30 minutes on high.

Serve.

My favourite option is to ladle the sauce over penne or rigatoni and garnish with a sprinkling of cheese and fresh greens. The sauce is also great as a shepherd’s pie base, a pie filling, pasta bake sauce, served over creamy polenta, stuffed in capsicums or inside a jacket potato.