Receta Bolognese, not Bologne!
Bolognese..or bolognaise, not too sure which one to use. Either way you say it, the definition is always the same. The traditional recipe confines the ingredients to beef, pancetta, onions, carrots, celery, tomato paste, broth, red wine, and milk. Through scanning my cookbook collection, I came across several different recipes that also included pork or pork sausage and or chicken along with the beef or veal, and many use both butter and olive oil for softening the veggies. Talk about R-I-C-H. This is when I decided, I didn't need all that meat. I started to study and research for different marinara sauces, learning to determine what 'goes' together. I decided I would take the bold and meaty flavors of fresh mushrooms to enrich the sauce and mix it with the traditional vegetables. I was sure I could make it taste rich and wonderful, without the heaviness of all that animal protein! Without the meat, the dish has only a third of the fat and 80 percent less saturated fat! Another quick tip for richness-- When your sauce is ready to simmer, throw in a Parm cheese rind. The rind will soften and the flavors of the cheese will infuse throughout the dish while it cooks. What a fabulous way to use every bit of your cheese :)
**If you're not ready to use a rind right away, it can be stored indefinitely in the freezer.
- Mushroom Bolognese
- with Whole Wheat Pasta
- INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
- 1 large green zucchini, finely chopped
- 1 (8-ounce) package Baby Bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (2-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
- 12 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta
DIRECTIONS:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until fragrant and semi-soft. Add carrot, zucchini, and mushrooms; sauté 10 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in remaining ingredients (through cheese rind), except pasta, to onion mixture. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Keep warm. Remove rind; discard.
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1.5 cups pasta w/ about 1 cup sauce
Calories: 286
Fat: 6g
Carbohydrates: 44.3g
Fiber: 9.3g
Protein: 10.8g