"Sugo Finto" (Meatless Ragu)

What you’ll need...

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

½ fennel bulb, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 package Beyond Meat hot Italian sausage, broken into pieces

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1-2 tablespoons white miso paste

A dash (or several) of Worcestershire sauce (optional but preferred!)

1+ cup red wine

Vegetable stock

Method

Sweat vegetables in 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until translucent but not browned, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes. Add garlic, stir to combine, and cook very briefly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add “meat” and combine with aromatics, breaking up the sausage until it becomes a mince. Watch closely: if the vegetables begin to color, add a small amount of water to the pan to prevent burning. Cook until sausage is browned, then add the tomato and miso pastes. Stir to coat and caramelize the tomato paste slightly, about 1-2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with red wine and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, if desired. Simmer until wine reduces slightly, then add enough stock so the “meat” is only just submerged. Cook 30-45 minutes; as sauce thickens, add more stock to loosen slightly. Finish with remaining butter and adjust flavors to taste (more miso, Worcestershire, salt, pepper!). Enjoy!