Eggplant Bolognese Sauce

This recipe was so good. It's hearty and woodsy but almost completely guilt free. I adapted it from the Whole Foods version in a way that makes it no longer vegan but I think my changes gave the sauce a lot more depth of flavor. If you're a vegan or vegetarian, be sure to follow the original recipe and I'm sure it will turn out just fine. It makes a ton of sauce. I froze half of it and used the other half for a couple days worth of leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 cup dry red wine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and chopped
12 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups beef broth (I used bouillon cubes and watered it down a little to cut the salt)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
1 pound whole wheat or other whole grain pasta

Method:

Bring red wine to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and very tender and most of the wine has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add eggplant, mushrooms and rosemary and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, broth and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in almond milk.

To serve, cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Serve sauce over pasta.