If you’ve never had pasta with “fake” sauce, ignore the title and focus on the results, because the flavor is very real. The cheeky name — coined by Milk Street‘s Christopher Kimball — refers to the meat-free ingredients in the sauce: “This Tuscan classic is so called because the vegetables — onion, carrot and celery — are minced, then gently cooked until they resemble, in appearance and texture, long-simmered meat in a tomatoey sauce,” writes Kimball in his book, Milk Street Shorts.
But there’s another umami-rich ingredient that acts as a key player in this sumptuous sauce. “We also include a portobello mushroom (make sure to scrape off the dark gills on the underside); it augments the meaty flavor and consistency,” Kimball continues. And feel free to make things easy on yourself: “Using a box grater to shred the vegetables keeps knifework to a minimum. Bucatini or spaghetti are our favorite pastas here, but any shape works well.” It’s a simple technique with humble elements, but guaranteed to transform everyday ingredients into a show-stopping dinner.
Pasta with “Fake” Sauce
Start to finish: 1 hour
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, halved lengthwise (root end intact) and peeled
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- 1 medium portobello mushroom, stemmed, gills scraped with a spoon and discarded
- 1 large celery stalk, strings peeled with a vegetable peeler
- 1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 1 pound bucatini or spaghetti
- 1⁄4 cup dry white wine
- 6-ounce can tomato paste (1⁄3 cup)
Instructions
- On the large holes of a box grater, grate the onion halves, discarding the ends. Grate the carrot, mushroom and celery. In a large saucepan over medium, combine the oil, grated vegetables and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until gently sizzling, then reduce to medium-low, cover and cook, stirring, until meltingly tender and any moisture released has cooked off but the vegetables have not browned, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, boil 4 quarts water. Add the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve 11⁄2 cups of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot. When the vegetables are done, add the wine and cook over medium, uncovered and stirring, until mostly evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper; cook, stirring, until starting to brown and stick, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir 1 cup of the reserved pasta water into the sauce, then add the sauce to the pasta in the pot. Cook over medium, tossing, until well coated, about 3 minutes, adding more pasta water 1 tablespoon at time as needed, if dry. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve drizzled with additional oil.
Excerpted from MILK STREET SHORTS by Christopher Kimball. Copyright © 2025 by CPK Media, LLC. Photograph by Joe Murphy. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
