Slow-Cooker Mushroom Bolognese

For a vegetarian take on classic Bolognese with long-cooked flavor, we turned to mushrooms, deciding on cremini for their firm texture and porcini for savory flavor. To keep things simple, we used the food processor to chop the cremini and the vegetables. Since mushrooms take on more flavor when browned, and because there is no opportunity for evaporation in a slow cooker, we sautéed them and the other vegetables in a skillet to drive off excess moisture and build flavor. We first tried tomato puree as the tomato base for our sauce, but we found it was a little too thick; the mushrooms required more liquid in which to cook. We discovered that processing whole peeled tomatoes gave us the extra liquid we needed while keeping the fresh tomato flavor. Finishing this hearty sauce with a little heavy cream helped smooth out any sharpness and gave it a nice creaminess, and parsley and lemon juice brightened it up