The quintessential ingredient to any garbage plate is Hot Meat Sauce, I could argue to the end of time about this, and there are tons of variations of it, from home made to jarred and store bought. Hot meat sauce, is served hot, has a kick to it and has some scrumptious flavors. The problem with all of these Hot Meat Sauces, is right in the name, meat. Typically, they contain ground beef, but I would imagine that there are variations that have ground pork, chicken or turkey, and if you eat meat, that’s great. I’m predominately vegetarian, and I’m only interested in eating meat, when I crave it, which was a few weeks ago now, and probably won’t happen again until Thanksgiving, but that’s another story.

On with it! With the advent of plant-based grounds, plant-based burgers that resemble actual ground beef burgers, now is the perfect time to make a Vegan Hot Ground Sauce. It’s spicy, hot, aromatic and perfectly mimics the real deal. Please use this on your favorite things, but it makes my Composted Plate to the next level.

Vegan Hot Ground Sauce

• 1 large Onion, minced
• 1 large Garlic Clove, crushed or minced
• 1 12oz package Plant-Based Ground, thawed
• 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 6oz can Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbsp Turbinado Cane Sugar or Brown Sugar
• 1/2 – 1 tsp ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 – 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper or 1 medium Jalapeno, miced
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Allspice, ground
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
• 1/4 tsp Clove, ground
• 3 Cups Water or Low Sodium Vegetable Broth
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Salt (omit if using Vegetable Broth)

What to do..

1. Take your minced onion, crushed garlic and 3 Tbsp Olive Oil and put into a quart sized sauce pan with a lid. Heat over medium high heat, and cook until fragrant, roughly 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the Plant-Based Ground, chopping and stirring frequently, to breakup ground and prevent burning of garlic and onion.
3. After 5 minutes, reduce heat to medium. Add all Spices, stir and cook until fragrant. Add Tomato Paste, stir and cook an additional 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Add Water or Vegetable Broth, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to remove all the bits of flavor. (This process is called deglazing.) Bring to a simmer, partially cover and reduce heat to low.
5. Cook Vegan Hot Ground Sauce, over low heat, partially covered for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. You want the Vegan Hot Ground Sauce to reduce by half.

Serve over my Composted Plate, or make some Vegan Chili Dogs and Burgers.