Meatless "Meat" Sauce with Chickpeas and Mushrooms
Why This Recipe Works This vegetarian sauce is just as hearty and lush as one made with meat. Starting with Cremini mushrooms and tomato paste is a big factor-both are rich sources of savory flavor. A generous amount of our favorite ingredient, extra-virgin olive oil, does double duty, enriching the sauce and helping toast the classic aromatics that we incorporate here: garlic, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. We bulk up the sauce with chopped chickpeas that are rinsed of their excess starch to maintain their shape and meatiness when mixed in. Vegetable broth thins the sauce without watering down its flavor.
Ingredients
- 10 ozCremini Mushroom, trimmed
- 6 tbspExtra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
- 1 tsptable salt
- 1Onion, chopped
- 5Garlic, minced
- 14 tspDried Oregano
- 4 tspRed Pepper Flakes
- 4 CupTomato Paste
- 1 can (28-ounce)Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 cupVegetable Broth
- 1 can (15-ounce)Chickpeas, rinsed
- 2 tbspFresh Basil, chopped
Instructions
- 1
Make sure to rinse the chickpeas after pulsing them in the food, else their starchy liquid will make the sauce too thick.
- 2
1. Pulse mushrooms in 2 batches in food processor until chopped into ½-inch pieces, 7 to 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. (Do not clean workbowl) Heat 5 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and fond has formed on bottom of pot, about 8 minutes.
- 3
3. Add tomato paste to pot and cook, stirring until mixture is rust-colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and push vegetables to sides of pot. Add garlic to center and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth mixture to center and cook, stirring constantly, until hot. Stir in tomatoes and bring to simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 4
4. While sauce simmers, pulse chickpeas in food processor until chopped into ½-inch pieces, 7 to 10 pulses. Transfer chickpeas to fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear; drain well. Add chickpeas to pot and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)