Vegetarian Bolognese With Bucatini Food

ONE-POT BUCATINI BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, carrots, celery, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring to coat the vegetables. Add the beef, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add the canned tomatoes, bucatini, 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to ensure the pasta is submerged in liquid. Bring to a boil and continue to cook, stirring frequently to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. Stir in the Parmesan and parsley and season with salt to taste. Divide among 4 bowls and serve with additional parsley and Parmesan.
• Cook's Note: The success of this recipe is dependent upon the specific pasta shape suggested, so we don't recommend substitutions.

VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil over medium-high. When foaming, add the onion, carrots and cauliflower, season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few pepper grinds. Cook, stirring just once or twice, until browned and juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomato paste, soy sauce and garlic and cook, stirring and smashing the vegetables, until the tomato paste is a shade darker and sticks to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the milk and bay leaf, season with salt and pepper, reduce heat to low, and stir to combine, scraping up browned bits from the pot. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk has thickened slightly and the vegetables are very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. (At first the pan will look dry, then the vegetable liquid will thin the sauce and it will thicken slightly).
• Halfway through cooking the sauce, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain. If the sauce is ready before the pasta, remove sauce from heat and keep covered.
• Remove the bay leaf from the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium-high. Add the pasta, 1/2 cup pasta water, the Parmesan and the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Stir vigorously until the pasta is well coated, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce is glossy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with more grated Parmesan on top.

VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE WITH BUCATINI

Steps:

• Working in batches, pulse mushrooms in a food processor until finely ground (you should have 6 cups). Transfer to a bowl. Add tomatoes and their juices to processor; pulse until chopped, then transfer to a liquid cup measure (you should have 3 cups).
• Heat butter and oil in a large pot over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring, until onion is tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add mushrooms and season with salt; cook, stirring, until mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Add sherry and increase heat to medium-high; cook until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes more. Add tomatoes, 1 cup water, and rosemary. Season with pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain. Return pasta to pot over medium heat and add 4 cups sauce, tossing to combine. Add cheese and drizzle with oil, then add reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until sauce has a silky consistency and evenly coats pasta. Remove from heat; serve with more cheese.

RIGATONI WITH VEGETABLE BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 1/2 cups very hot water. Set aside and let the mushrooms soften.
• Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Strain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the porcini mushroom liquid. Add the porcini mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the porcini mushroom liquid and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add mascarpone cheese and stir just until the cheese is incorporated.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the vegetable mixture. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid, if necessary, to moisten the sauce. Toss with Parmesan and serve.

VEGAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the chopped onions and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
• Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Don't add too much as you will be adding soy sauce later for color.
• Then add dry italian seasonings and crushed red pepper, if using. Mix well and add a bit more olive oil if pan looks dry.
• Add minced garlic and stir until fragrant.
• Next add the dry TVP, and stir to coat evenly with onion, carrot and spice mixture.
• Then add the soy sauce, which will give the TVP great flavor, and a bit darker color.
• Pan will be dry, so quickly add the cup of vegetable broth to rehydrate the tvp.
• Stir to coat all the tvp well, scraping the sides of the pan if needed.
• Let simmer for a minute or two.
• Next add your can of tomato paste, mix well and cook for a minute or two before adding the large can of crushed tomatoes.
• As sauce begins to bubble, be sure to stir in the tomato paste into the crushed tomatoes.
• Reduce heat to low, and simmer while you cook pasta.
• Cook whole wheat pasta in a large pot f boiling salted water for 7-9 minutes, or until al dente.
• Drain pasta and place in large serving bowl.
• Top with bolognese sauce, chopped fresh basil or parsley and serve.

VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently fry the onion, carrots and celery until the onion is starting to soften. Stir in the garlic and the Quorn (there's no need to defrost it) and fry for a couple of mins. Add the bay leaf, passata, vegetable stock cube and 200ml water, then bring everything to the boil.
• Turn down the heat and simmer for 30 mins or until all the pieces of veg are tender and disappearing into the tomato sauce. Add the milk, then cover with a lid and cook for 10 mins. Season to taste. If the sauce is a bit thin, keep bubbling until it thickens. Stir through the basil. Serve with the spaghetti and grate the cheese over the top, if you like. Can be frozen into portions and reheated.