Spaghetti “Bolognese”

I’ve been making an effort to cut back on our meat consumption but sometimes I really really want a meat-based dish. It was rainy today and looked cool (even though it was still around 85), but it got me in the mood for Spag Bol. One problem: no meat in the house. No meat? No problem…. maybe. So here’s my improvised vegetarian Spaghetti “Bolognese”.

1 package extra firm tofu
1/2 an onion chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
mushrooms (I probably used 1/4 of a pound? I’ve no idea) chopped fine
jar of sauce (I always have Barilla Marinara on hand)
spaghetti

Slice the tofu in half horizontally and place between paper towels to drain the excess moisture. I put my cast iron Dutch Oven on top to really squeeze out the water. Takes about 30 min or so.

Sprinkle tofu with salt and pepper. Put about a tsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and put in the tofu. Fry on both sides till it’s a nice tannish brown, about 3min/side. Remove from pan.

Heat about a Tbsp of butter in the pan and saute the onions, garlic, and mushrooms till softened, about 5min or so. Chop up the tofu and then add it back in to absorb some of the flavor for another 5min or so. Add in the spaghetti sauce.

Let the sauce simmer while the pasta cooks. When the pasta’s done, just spoon the sauce on top.

Things I would do differently next time: Marinate the tofu for a few minutes in olive oil and garlic for a flavor boost, and chop it more finely than I did today.

Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone Cheese

I’m a sucker for a good risotto.  I love you, creamy, cheesy, savory goodness!  My favorite one is in the Jamie Oliver Italy cookbook, and it’s full of cheesy buttery fat; so bad for me, yet SO good!  I saw this one in an old Cooking Light and thought I’d give it a go, and while it’s not quite as good as my bad-for-you favorite, it’s definitely a close second.  And much better for me!

Risotto wiht Porcini Mushrooms and Mascarpone Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  cups  boiling water
• 1/2  cup  dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 ounce)
• 1  (14-ounce) can less-sodium beef broth
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  uncooked Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
• 3/4  cup  chopped shallots
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  cup  dry white wine
• 1/4  cup  (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) mascarpone cheese
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Combine boiling water and mushrooms; let stand 10 minutes or until soft. Drain through a colander over a bowl. Reserve 1 1/4 cups soaking liquid, and chop mushrooms.

Bring soaking liquid and broth to a simmer in a small saucepan (do not boil). Keep broth mixture warm over low heat.

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add rice, shallots, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add wine, and cook until liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes).

Add 1 cup broth mixture to rice mixture; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring occasionally. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring occasionally until each portion of broth mixture is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Add mushrooms, cheeses, thyme, salt, and pepper; stir gently just until the cheese melts. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

198 (28% from fat)

Fat:

6.1g (sat 3.2g,mono 1g,poly 0.3g)

Protein:

8.9g

Carbohydrate:

27g

Fiber:

1.2g

Cholesterol:

15mg

Iron:

1.9mg

Sodium:

449mg

Calcium:

113mg

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Since we’re cutting out a lot of butter, cheese, and booze next week to get “healthier”, I thought I’d go ahead and make some stuff that’s really bad for us this week. Enter: Jamie Oliver’s risotto. Oh.My.God. I got the Jamie Oliver’s Italy cookbook last year for Xmas, and I just haven’t gotten around to making much out of it because all of the recipes are so damn rich. But oh my GOD this was so good. You basically make the White Risotto recipe and then roast some mushrooms and garlic and add in at the end. Here’s the basic recipe which is simply FABULOUS on its own:

Risotto Bianco

2 pints stock (chicken, fish, or vegetable, as appropriate)
2 tablespoons olive oil
a dollop of butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 a head of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
2 cups risotto (Arborio) rice
2 wineglasses of dry white vermouth (dry Martini or Noilly Prat) or dry white wine
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
4 oz. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Stage 1: Heat the stock. Put the olive oil and butter into a separate pan, add the onion, garlic, and celery, and cook very slowly for about 15 minutes without coloring. This is called a soffrito. When the vegetables have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.

Stage 2: The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring—it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

Stage 3: Once the vermouth or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt. Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked. If not, carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

Stage 4: Remove from the heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir well. Place a lid on the pan and allow it to sit for 2 minutes. This is the most important part of making the perfect risotto, as this is when it becomes amazingly creamy and oozy like it should be. Eat it as soon as possible, while it retains its beautiful texture.

So if you’re going to add mushrooms, you take about 6 oz of chopped assorted mushrooms along with about a head of garlic and saute them when you hit the end of Stage 3.  Saute for about 2 minutes in an oven-proof  pan with some olive oil, butter, and thyme, and then pop them in a 400 degree oven for about 6-7 minutes.  Chop them up and add about half when you hit Stage 4, and then add the rest over the top of each individual serving.  And then die and go to heaven.

Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken with White Wine Sauce

Ruth's Bookmarkded Recipes

Oh. My. GOD! Sooooooo good. SOOOOOOO good! I don’t even have enough “O”s for how good this is. This is going into our “make this as often as possible” rotation. This is also a “bookmarked recipe”. I got the idea from Ruth’s Kitchen Experiments and decided to go through my bookmarks instead of doing something we’ve had before.

Things I did differently: I only added salt prior to adding filling; next time I won’t add any because the bacon added enough salt for us. I used thighs instead of breasts (we prefer thighs in this household). I used a whole small onion instead of a half of a medium. I served it with rice.

Mushroom-Stuffed Chicken with White Wine Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices bacon, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, small dice
• 4 ounces crimini mushrooms, cleaned, destemmed, and small dice (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh sage, minced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 (10-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350˚F, and arrange a rack in the middle. Heat a large, ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat and add bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crisp and browned, about 6 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
2. Return pan with bacon drippings to medium-high heat and add onion. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and herbs, and season again with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the wine and cook until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare chicken breasts.
3. Cut each breast in half horizontally. Place breasts on a cutting board in a resealable plastic bag or between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using a mallet or the bottom of a pan, pound chicken pieces to an even thickness, about 1/4 inch thick. Season chicken all over with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Lay chicken breasts on a cutting board so the narrow end faces you. Stir reserved bacon into mushroom mixture and place 1/4 of the mixture halfway up each chicken piece. Fold the bottom piece of chicken up over the filling to enclose it, then roll into a tight cylinder. Use toothpicks to secure the rolls and repeat with remaining chicken and filling.
5. Heat the large ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Once oil shimmers, place chicken in pan seam-side down and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over then transfer pan to oven and cook until filling is warm and interior of chicken is white but still juicy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Remove chicken to a clean plate and cover with foil. Place pan over medium-high heat, add remaining 1/2 cup wine and broth, and scrape up any brown bits stuck on bottom of pan (be careful, handle will be very hot). Cook over medium-high heat until alcohol is cooked off and sauce is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir in butter, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken and serve.

I apologize for not taking a picture of it, but the smell made us SO HUNGRY we had to eat it immediately!