Vegan Seitan and Mushroom Ragù Bolognese

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely minced
• 1 large carrot, finely minced
• 3 ribs celery, finely minced
• 5 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and caps crumbled into small pea-size pieces
• 1 pound seitan, drained of excess liquid and torn into pea-size pieces
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 1 can peeled whole tomatoes, puréed with a blender or immersion blender, or crushed by hand
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 sprig sage
• 2 tablespoons refined neutral coconut oil
• 1/4 cup red miso
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

1. Set a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and warm the olive oil until it looks glossy and fluid. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, then cook, stirring often and loosening anything that catches on the pot, until the vegetables just start to color, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms and seitan. Continue cooking, stirring and scraping the pot regularly, until the extra moisture has cooked away and a browned layer forms across the bottom.
3. Mix in the tomato paste and cook it for 30 seconds. Pour in the wine, using your spoon to release the browned bits from the base of the pot, and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let the wine bubble gently until it is nearly gone and the sharp alcohol aroma has faded, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the puréed tomatoes and bring the sauce back to a simmer. Drop in the bay leaf, rosemary, and sage. Stir through the coconut oil, miso, and soy sauce, then keep the sauce at a very low simmer until it has thickened and reduced, about 30 minutes.
5. Remove and discard the bay leaf, rosemary, and sage. Taste before salting, since the sauce may already be well seasoned, then add salt and pepper as needed. Stir in the nutmeg.
6. You can refrigerate the sauce for up to 5 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. Spoon it over pasta or polenta, or layer it into a vegan lasagna.