Bolognese Fake Out

The other night I was flipping through my mountains of cookbooks, searching for inspiration, when I saw a recipe from Barefoot Contessa for a "weeknight bolognese" dinner.  In fact, I had been trying to get a good angle on some new uses for canned tomatoes (more on this later!), so this recipe just called out to me.  I love cooking with canned tomatoes because they are so flavorful and easy to cook with.  And as an avid runner, I am always in the market for a new pasta dish!  This recipe is one step up from an earlier tomato sauce post, but it's just as simple and delicious.

Originally, I had intended to just omit the beef that the recipe called for, because it seemed easy enough.  But when I opened my freezer, I saw some "crumbles" that I had purchased a few months ago from Quorn.  According to my friend, and confirmed by the website, the principle ingredient of Quorn isn't soy, it's actually a form of fungi that is high in protein and low in fat.  Sounds odd, but I threw in some of those crumbles to my cooked sauce and I had a thicker, richer, and healthier sauce.  Triple bonus!  Of course, you can omit the Quorn completely and you'll have a delicious pasta sauce, or you can cook it with beef according to the original recipe.  But I happened to love my bolognese fake out, and I think you will too! 

Pasta Bolognese Fake Out (Vegetarian Bolognese)
adapted from Barefoot Contessa
serves 4-6

Ingredients
2 tbls olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbls dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you like more heat)
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 cup Quorn frozen "beef" crumbles
1 box of short pasta (small shells or orecchiette work well)
1/4 cup cream
Dash of nutmeg
Salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil.  Allow the oil to heat up a bit, then add in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes.  Saute until the garlic is fragrant, then add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Season with salt and pepper.  Allow the sauce to come up to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, bring a large pot of water up to a boil.  Salt the water liberally, then cook the pasta according to the packaged directions.

Add the Quorn to the sauce and stir to heat up the crumbles.  After a few minutes, stir in the cream and nutmeg, and taste for seasonings.  Add more salt and pepper if needed. 

When your pasta is finished cooking, drain and add to the pan of sauce.  Stir to coat. 

Serve up the pasta, and top each plate with some grated Parmesan cheese and basil if you have any on hand.  Enjoy this classic pasta fake out!

Second Day of Appetizers: Gougeres

It's the "Second Day of Appetizers" this holiday season on Ruminations on Food, and I bring you a great recipe that I ripped (literally) from the Star Tribune taste section.  Gougeres are bite-sized, airy cheese puffs that make a great appetizer for any gathering or meal.  The recipe is pretty simple and my favorite part about gougeres is that you can make them ahead of time and pop them in the oven for five minutes before serving.  Easy.  And cheesy.  The puffs hollow out as they bake, so this is also a light snack that won't fill up your stomach before the big meal.  I brought mine to my family's Thanksgiving dinner up in Osakis.  The pumpkin pie I made was a disaster, so I was glad I had these little guys to fall back on!

Gougeres
adapted from the Star Tribune
makes about 36 puffs

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.* 

In a medium sauce pan, heat the butter, water, and salt over medium heat.  Once the butter has melted and the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and add the cup of flour all at once to the liquid.  Begin stirring immeidately with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together into a ball of dough.  Return the pan to medium heat and continue stirring for another minute, until a light film begins to coat the bottom of the pan. 

Scrape the dough into a larger bowl and beat with a mixer for about a minute to cool it off.  Reserve about a tablespoon of the beaten egg for later, and add in the rest of the egg mixture to the dough in four parts, beating after each addition until the egg has completely incorporated. 

Add in one cup of the cheese, the mustard, and pepper, and stir until well blended.  Then you may either use a tablespoon to measure out the dough, or put the dough into a large plastic bag and snip one of the corners off.  Then use the bag like a pastry bag and squeeze out little bits of dough onto the pan. 

Using a pastry brush, dot each dough mound with a bit of the reserved egg mixture.  Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake another 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle the reserved cheese on top of the puffs.  Put back into the oven for a minute to set the cheese.  Then let cool for a bit, but serve warm.  If you are baking in advance, let cool completely and store in the fridge overnight or in the freezer for up to a month.  Reheat at 350 degrees for about five minutes. 

Serve and enjoy!

*I ran out of parchment paper and tried just greasing the pans with cooking spray.  It made it hard to form the dough into little puffs because it kept sliding around.  Go with the parchment paper!

Friends on Food :: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  To celebrate this holiday of thanks and gratitude, I thought I would post a Thanksgiving-themed Friends on Food.  There are so many great Thanksgiving episodes to choose from, but I opted for the one with a cameo by Brad Pitt.  He's just as delicious as Thanksgiving dinner :)  Have a wonderful holiday everybody!

Season 8 - The One with the Rumor

Will: Look at her standing there with those yams.  My two greatest enemies Ross: Rachel Green and complex carbohydrates!