Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large carrot, chopped (~1 cup)
• 2 large stalks celery, chopped (~1 cup)
• 12 oz mushrooms (cremini, shiitake, or various)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp herbs de Provence (or just Italian seasoning)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp red miso paste (optional)
• 2 tbsps nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup vegetable stock (optional)
• 2 tsp maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 lb rigatoni or other pasta (short works better)
• fresh basil (optional)

Directions

1. Ideally, prep all the vegetables first.
2. Dice the onions and mince the garlic, but cut the carrot and celery according to your preference for their size in the final sauce. This can also be done in a food processor if you want very small vegetables in the sauce.
3. Mince the washed mushrooms and walnuts—quite small. This can also be done in a food processor to make things much easier. However, don't process (or blend) so finely that they become a paste. You definitely want to keep some of the texture here.
4. Coat the bottom of a wide saucepan or deep saute pan with the olive oil. Saute the garlic and onion at medium-low heat until fragrant.
5. Add the carrot and celery to the pot and stir. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. Mix in the mushrooms, walnuts, tomato paste, herbs, and red pepper. Keep things moving as it should be quite dry in the pot.
7. After 3–5 minutes, deglaze the pot with the wine. This can also be done with a splash of vegetable broth. Reduce until about half the liquid is gone.
8. Add the tomatoes and all their juices.
9. Add the miso paste and nutritional yeast, making sure the miso paste is incorporated into the broth.
10. Add the sweetener (syrup, honey, or sugar) as well.
11. If the sauce looks too thick or dry, you can add some vegetable broth, or cover the pot for a while and wait for more liquid to escape the vegetables.
12. Simmer for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to develop and meld. This is when you can cook the pasta.
13. When the pasta is almost done, taste the sauce to add salt and black pepper, though it might not need much because of the red pepper and nutritional yeast. Pasta water can also be used in place of salt, if you also want to loosen the sauce a bit.
14. After you drain the pasta and transfer it back to the pot, immediately spoon out a little bit of the thinner part of the sauce (about 1/4–1/2 cup) into the pasta to coat it thoroughly.
15. To serve, put the pasta mixture onto the plate or into the bowl, then spoon the chunky sauce over the top. Note: I would not usually recommend mixing pasta and sauce this way for serving, just for this sauce. Normally, undercook the pasta by 1–2 minutes, and mix all of the sauce with the pasta and mix thoroughly at low heat for a final minute.
16. Top with sliced basil leaves.