mushroom bolognese

yeah i'll admit i didn't know what bolognese sauce was until after i made it and after i wikipedia'd it.

wikipedia says:

Bolognese sauce (ragù alla bolognese in Italian, also known by its French name sauce bolognaise) is a meat based sauce for pasta originating in Bologna, Italy. Bolognese sauce is sometimes taken to be a tomato sauce but authentic recipes have only a very small amount of tomato, perhaps a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste.

oh i see.

the recipe i used came from a cookbook i received for christmas maybe 10 years ago when i first decided to become vegetarian. it's called the best-ever vegetarian cookbook and can be found here or at any barnes and noble stores i guess. i don't know if it is the BEST EVER cookbook, but it was a great starting point for someone who wasn't familiar with cooking sans animals. every recipe is pictured which is amazing. a lot of them were too sophisticated for my 11 year old tastes, but i did like that it didn't base recipes around mock meats which are kind of gross and rather expensive. instead of providing a list of things to substitute for meat, each recipe was unique and didn't make a big deal out of the fact that it was vegetarian. each dish i tried was easy to prepare -- by that time i had been cooking meals for my family for maybe a little over a year so i had some experience in the kitchen, but nothing too fancy. the only thing that failed me was the homemade ravioli recipe. *shrug* i'm sure if i tried it again i could get it though. i do wish, however, that it featured more recipes with tofu because it took me years to figure out how to prepare it. still, this book is what i turn to when i'm not feeling creative but still want to eat something healthy and tasty.

mushroom bolognese
(from the best-ever vegetarian cookbook)

1 pound of mushrooms
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 T tomato paste
14 oz can chopped tomatoes
3 T fresh oregano
1 pound fresh pasta
salt and fresh cracked pepper
parmesan cheese, to serve (vegans, leave this out)

serves 4.

1. trim the mushroom stems neatly at the top, then cut each mushroom into quarters.
2. heat the oil in a large pan. add the chopped onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
3. add the mushrooms to the pan and cook over high heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. there will be quite a lot of liquid produced.
4. stir in the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon of the oregano. lower the heat and cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
5. meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. cook the pasta for 2-3 minutes, or according to package directions, until just tender.
6. season the bolognese sauce with salt and pepper. drain the pasta, pour it into the bowl, and add the mushroom mixture. toss to mix well. serve in individual bowls, topped with shavings of fresh parmesan and the remaining chopped oregano.

*if you prefer to use dried pasta, make this the first thing you cook. use 12 oz dried pasta. it will take 10-12 minutes, during which time you can make the mushroom mixture.*

my comments: i used dried pasta. no pasta machine = no homemade pasta. i think it would be lovely to make everything homemade, but whatever. i also halved the recipe since i cook for myself and no one else. although it did not specify, i would recommend draining the tomatoes before adding them, perhaps reserving a small amount of liquid in case the sauce is too dry.

i also found this to be a little bland. i left out the cheese and only had dried oregano on hand, but i think even with those it would've been a little blah for my tastes. serve this to people like my great-aunt who order food "as mild as possible" when you go to restaurants.

once again, sorry for lack of photo. i am lazy.

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

It's no secret that I love me some garlic. Today I stumbled upon and subsequently decided to try a recipe I found on Food Network's website. Except for I forgot to write down an ingredients list before walking to the store. I kind of remembered everything, except for I didn't the correct amount of tomatoes so I was forced to halve the recipe. That's okay though since I cook only for myself.

Here is the recipe I used with my modifications in italics.

(Again, I cut the quantities in half.)

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004 Show: Emeril Live Episode: Holiday Food Gifts

1 large onion, chopped 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon minced garlic (omitted because I got lazy and didn't want to mince it) 1/4 cup tomato paste 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (I used a Taco Bell "hot" sauce packet, haha) 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (omitted because I don't have any) 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning (omitted because I don't have any) 1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves (substituted with other random spices I had onhand) 2 (28-ounce) cans whole Italian plum tomatoes, with their juices (Used diced with basil, oregano, ) 3 whole heads roasted garlic, cloves removed from peels (I used 2 whole heads) In a large saucepan saute the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until soft and lightly golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, salt, balsamic vinegar, hot sauce, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil, and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crushing with your hands as you place them in the pan, and their juices. Stir to combine well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the roasted garlic cloves and stir to combine. Continue to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes longer, or until the flavors have come together. Serve over pasta of choice. Sorry for the gross cell phone picture! My regular camera is still AWOL.

Now I have never roasted garlic before and I don't recall ever making pasta sauce myself before so I'm not sure what makes a sauce good or bad. *shrug* I thought it was pretty good, but I was expecting an "in-your-face" kind of garlicky taste since there was so much in there. It was surprisingly mild. Since it didn't specify what to do with the garlic before adding it to the sauce I decided to chop it into quarters after slipping each clove out of its skin. Then when it was simmering I sort of mashed them against the side of the pot with the back of the spoon. The large pieces of garlic looked kind of ugly and seemed a bit intimidating. Biting into a smaller garlic chunk was amazing each time it happened!

The finished sauce was chunky and just thick enough. Jarred sauces always freak me out a little because they're so smooth. I think this recipe has a lot of potential. It just seems like it's missing something. I think that's where the red pepper flakes come in. Maybe I'll go out and buy some for next time. This recipe is time-consuming, but most of the time is spent simmering so you can clean up the kitchen or something while you're waiting.

A side-note: I feel sort of guilty for using one of Emeril's recipes since I sort of hate him and his show. I can't really explain it. I really don't like him, that woman from Semi Homemade (forgot her name), or Paula Deen on Food Network. I love Giada de Laurentiis, Ina Garten, and Alton Brown. Rachael Ray is awful but provides lulz. I am not familiar with any of the other people on the channel. Oh Emeril. I know he loves the garlic as much as I do, but I just don't know.

Also if you do not know how to roast garlic, you could use this recipe, but I used the one in the reviews of the sauce recipe. It's the first comment when you click on the "Reviews" button.

One more tip: If you're like me and are forced to buy tomato paste in a can rather than in a squeezable tube, you can store leftovers by dropping spoonfuls onto some wax paper and sticking it in the freezer. When it's frozen dump them in a plastic bag and keep frozen until you need some again.