Rigatoni in “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Meat” Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

Once upon a time, in the Golden State of California, a little girl grew up basking in the radiant rays of sunshine. Her little cozy ranch house boasted a mini orchard with succulent fruits like apples, oranges, kumquats, & avocados.  The organic garden her mother cultivated gave life to fresh tomatoes, basil, squash, and yam greens.  These essential greens (and reds, and yellows) nurtured her little body & soul, and she grew up to be a vegetarian.

In a land 2500 miles away in the heartland of America, a little boy grew up in the wholesome state of Ohio. There, the people were jolly and warm, and the meals big and hearty. Juicy steaks & creamy potatoes gave the boy strong bones & muscles, and he grew up to be an “equal opportunity eater”, more commonly known as an omnivore.

Two decades later, the playful hands of fate brought this little girl and boy together in the concrete jungle of New York City. As different as they were in their diets, they shared a common love for food (and each other), so they often had to get creative with their flexitarian menus and two-pot meals. Until one day, a Fairy Chefmother, Giada DeLaurentiis, waved her magic spatula and showed them a recipe that was vegetarian but tasted like meat. The little girl and boy devoured the dish completely, and lived happily until the next meal.

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This is my variation on Giada’s Rigatoni with Vegetarian Bolognese. I opted to make my tomato base from scratch, substituted seasonal spring ramps for onions, and picked my favorite herbs – thyme, basil & tarragon. What I kept constant (and believe it’s critical to) is the mascarpone and the mushrooms, which give it the  “meaty” taste that serves to trick all carnivores!

What You’ll Need:

• 1 pound rigatoni (I made my own fresh pasta!) but you can use dry as well
• 2-3 tomatos, diced
• 4 oz mixed mushrooms (I used a baby bella and oyster, but porcini, king oyster, chinese black, and portabello will work just as well)
• 2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 bunch ramps, chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• a pinch of each dried herbs: thyme, basil, tarragon (can also use rosemary, oregano, marjoram, or fresh herbs)
• salt & pepper to taste
•  2-3 dollops of mascarpone cheese
• 1/4-1/2 c of vegetarian broth
• Olive oil – for cooking
• grated parmesan cheese (to finish)

Putting it all together:

1. Cook the diced tomatoes and ramps in a 3-4 qt pot with some olive oil, until tomatoes are very soft and become concentrated
2. Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the carrots, bell pepper, and mushrooms until finely chopped
3. In a skillet, heat up some olive oil. Transfer the finely chopped into the skillet, season with salt & pepper & herbs, and cook for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are cooked.
4. Add broth and bring the vegetables to a boil. Then simmer until the liquid is reduced by half (takes about 10 min)
5. Fold in mascarpone cheese until well-integrated
6. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook until tender but al dente (3-5 min for fresh, 8-10 for dry)
7. Drain the pasta and transfer to the vegetable bolognese sauce. Mix well, adding some pasta liquid if mixture is dry.
8. Sprinkle with parmesan and take a huge satisfying bite into it!

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Paella Surprise Cakes

Surprise! It’s me!!! Miss me? Because I’ve missed you dearly. It’s been too long since I’ve been here and I am appalled at how delinquent I’ve been, and surprised at how much I have really missed the blogosphere.

I think I rather like surprises. It’s the element of the unexpected; the feeling of wonder and astonishment. It represents endless possibilties for you to chance upon, but truly embracing it requires lots of bravery and a sense of adventure. We are all familiar with the pleasant surprises in everyday life – a surprise party, unexpected flowers from a significant other, or a welcome phone call from a long-lost friend. But what about the surprises that aren’t so agreeable? The ones that throw your plans off course and make you spin around at a loss?

I woke up Friday morning to such a surprise – a shroud of furious white storm spinning outside my window, threatening my  flight to Vegas for the weekend. Still in bed, I checked my iPhone dejectedly as flight after flight showed cancelled statuses. As I got ready for work, Surprise! A text from my coworker: “Office closed for the day due to storm. Yay!” With work out of the way, I decided to head straight to Newark Airport to ensure my spot on a non-cancelled flight. On the NJ Transit Train, I optimistically looked out the window as the snow started to lighten up into gentle wispy flakes. Then Surprise! A text from Brian: “Honey, check your flight status. I think your flight has been cancelled.” WHAT?! But what was a girl to do? I continued on my way and hoped to sweet talk my way into another flight.

Newark Airport was mayhem that day. Lines long enough to compete with the queues of Disneyworld, and irate airline workers and customers cursing one another out in voices loud enough to compete with the noise volume of a trading floor.  But at the Continental counter, another Surprise! The gracious rep took a look at Brian’s Platinum Elite status on my boarding pass, typed in a bunch of keys, produced another boarding pass and said “I went out on a limb and put you on the ONLY Newark-Vegas flight that is flying out today. It’s boarding now but you can still make it if you run. Now RUUUN!” I passed the security checkpoint in a daze, picked up my snowboots and ran in my socks to the boarding gate and into the airplane just as they closed the cabin doors behind me. Then it was my turn to text Brian: “Surprise! I got on a flight and I’m landing even earlier than I’m supposed to!”

So you see, I do like surprises. They keep you on your toes, sprinkle some adventure into the everyday mundane, and in the end, things usually turn out all right.

Take these Paella Cakes for example. This recipe started out as Risotto Balls, but as I started cooking the arborio rice, my mind drifted back to thoughts of Spain and the unforgettable stations of paella cooked in the largest pans I’d ever seen, and all of a sudden, I found myself chopping up veggies, adding in tomato paste and red wine, and finally saffron water (a bit out of usual order). But I had already made the “surprise” filling that was meant to go into the milder flavored risotto balls – a tangy, creamy mango-cream cheese stuffing that I wasn’t so sure would go well with the bold flavors of the paella.  So I made some with and some without.  At the end of the day, it was clear that the ones with the surprise filling were the winners. Although at that point, it was impossible to tell which one was avec or sans, so we had no option but to pick them at random, and Be Surprised!

Surprise! Paella Cakes

You will need:

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1.5 c. veggie stock
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into coins
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 4-6 oz bella mushrooms, sliced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 c. of red wine
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• paprika
• red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper
• 1/4 c. cream cheese
• 1 mango, diced
• lime zest
• lime juice
• cayenne pepper
• lots of bread crumbs (regular or panko – I tried both)

Surprise Yourself:

• Dry fry saffron threads over low heat, crumble into small bowl of water (about 3 tsp of hot water) and infuse
• Pour in some olive oil. Cook leeks over medium heat until soft and aromatic. Add all the veggies (bell peppers, zucchini, mushroom) and cook for another few minutes
• Add rice and cook until coated with veggies and glossy. Add stock, tomato paste, tomatoes, saffron water, paprika, cayenne, red pepper flakes, and bring to a boil
• Simmer for 15-20 min until rice is completely cooked. Let cool
• Meanwhile, make the surprise filling by mixing in cream cheese, mango, lime zest and lime juice

• Spread a bed of bread crumbs over working surface. Divide the rice mixture into walnut sized portions and form into cakes. With your thumb, make a ditch into the center of the rice and spoon in a little of the filling and seal the cake
• Roll cake around in bread crumbs until covered and place on oiled baking dish
• Bake at 400 for around 20 min until golden brown

If you want to shake things up, make some with and some without filling and decide for yourself which is tastier! Now pour a glass of Rioja and enjoy!

And if you have any leftover paella (like I did) you just pour more Rioja and enjoy the Paella in its purest delightful form!

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Triple Play Pumpkin Gnocchi

Happy 2010! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season filled with food, festivities, and lots of love. My own Holiday has been chock full of excitement, ranging from wholesome over-eating with the family, to drunken debauchery merry-making (I hope none of my Mother’s friends are reading this) with friends, to a romantic New Years Eve with live music by the fireplace at Caffe Vivaldi with the Mister. So riding on the high of this seemingly non-stop vacation (please never stop!) I thought I’d start off the new year with one of my favorite exciting experiments of 2009. May I present…

The Battle Of the Gnocchis

If you type into the Google Machine “Pumpkin Gnocchi“, you’ll find lots of wonderful recipes by recipe sites and food bloggers with slight variations on how to make the gnocchi. You’ll also see that it is usually complemented with a lemony, buttery Brown Butter Sage Sauce. So I thought I’d change things up by bringing 2 new challengers into the game, and see if they can claim the title of sauce king over the reigning Butter Sage.

But before we begin the competition, I’d like to introduce you to the Pumpkin Gnocchi. A close relative of the classic Potato Gnocchi, Pumpkin Gnocchi is a delicious wonder with golden good looks and a sweet personality. She delights almost everyone she meets and is surprisingly easy and fun to make! Today, she has volunteered herself to be served with the 3 sauce competitors. To create Pumpkin Gnocchi, all you need are:

• 1 can of pureed pumpkin (I used a 15 oz can)
• 2 cups of flour (plus a little extra when you’re rolling the dough)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cups of grated parmesan cheese
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 pinch of cinnamon
• A generous sprinkling of salt & pepper
• Cooking Oil

Making the Gnocchi: Combine the flour and pumpkin together, add the spices and seasoning, fold in the egg, and finally the parmesan cheese to give it a pop of flavor. On a floured surface, roll dough into long, 1/2 inch ropes, cut into 1 inch pieces. In a pot, bring lots of water to a boil, add in some cooking oil to prevent sticking, and slowly drop the gnocchi and cook in batches until they float on top (it’s very quick – maybe 3-5 minutes). And there you go, easy, delicious, foolproof gnocchi! So without further ado, let the games begin!

Reigning Champion: Brown Butter Sage Sauce

This sauce is a complete classic. The lemony flavor of the sage and savory butter melts together with the Pumpkin Gnocchi to create an irresistible combination. It’s the quickest sauce to make and does not fail to please.

Round 1: In a saucepan, melt 1 stick of Salted Butter in low heat, chop up 4-6 Sage Leaves and cook in the butter until the aroma of sage fills your nose. Add 1-2 Tbsp of the Starchy Water used to cook Gnocchi to thicken the sauce, and pour over the Pumpkin Gnocchi. Garnish with Parmesan Flakes and additional Sage Leaves on top.

Contender #1: Spinach Pesto Sauce

This Spinach Pesto Sauce is nutty, flavorful, and so well-balanced that it puts anyone who comes into contact with it in danger of overeating! He boasts of healthy ingredients that bring out the sweetness of the Pumpkin Gnocchi. He takes slightly longer to prepare but is well worth the short wait!

Round 2: In a mini food processor, pulse together 1/4 cup Olive Oil, 1-2 scoops of Pine Nuts, 1 handful of Chopped Basil, and a sprinkling of Salt & Pepper until it reaches a fine consistency, but not slushy.  In a saucepan, heat some cooking oil, and saute the Spinach until cooked. Add in the pesto mixture, cook for another 1-2 minutes, and pour over the Pumpkin Gnocchi.

Contender #2: Smokey Marinara Sauce

This Challenger is a bit of a free spirit and wild card. Never one to conform to tradition, he encompasses different cultural flavors and brings his big hearty taste and spicy smoky flavor to the competition.

Round 3: In a saucepan over medium heat, pour in 1 can of Diced Tomatoes (I used Trader Joes Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles). Add in 1-2 finely chopped Jalapenos, a generous pouring of Red Wine, and a few shakes of Ancho Chili Powder, Chipotle Chili Powder, and Cayenne Chili Powder. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and pour over Pumpkin Gnocchi.

The Verdict:

So did the Brown Butter Sage Sauce reign as the incumbent, or did one of the challengers take the crown? Brian and I sniffed, tasted, and devoure. And after careful deliberation, Brian ruled that the Butter Sage Sauce was still the best, affirming why it remains the most popular accompaniment. I on the other hand, could not stop eating the Spinach Pesto Sauce and deemed that one the winner. We both agreed that while the Smoky Marinara Sauce was delicious, its strong flavors overpowered instead of complemented the Pumpkin Gnocchi. So the final verdict is that: While the Brown Butter Sage Sauce remains a strong contender, there’s a new sauce in town that threatens its throne! Which will it be? You decide!

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