Tag: #kidslovepasta
Look Ma…No meat! (Wild Mushroom Pasta)

Look Ma…No meat! (Wild Mushroom Pasta)

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My family loves meat but every now and then I can fool them and serve a dish without the carnivore stamp on it.  The secret ingredient is mushrooms!  Mushrooms have a nice meaty consistency that works well as a substitute.  We make portabello burgers, stuff creminis with bread crumbs, onions, garlic, parmesan and peppers and slide them into the oven but our favorite is Pasta with Mushrooms.  A variety of mushrooms are sauteed with garlic, thyme and shallots, flavored with marsala and finished with some stock and cream.  It’s delicious.  If you are a purest you can use a mushroom or vegetable stock but I like to use chicken stock.

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Pasta a la fungi ok, its really noodles with mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces of fresh mushrooms combination of wild and white button or cremini, almost any mushroom will work, cleaned and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 1/4 cup dry marsala
  • 1 cup stock or broth vegetable, mushroom or chicken
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 stalk of green onions or small bunch of chives, chopped
  • 1 16 ounce box of linguine or tagliatelle
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat oil and butter in a saute pan large enough to fit mushrooms. When oil and butter start to sizzle add shallots to pan saute 1 minute, then add garlic. Saute another minute, when soft but not brown, add mushrooms. Saute mushrooms until brown, liquid released and evaporated. Add marsala and cook a couple minutes to almost evaporated. Add stock, thyme and continue to cook until reduced by half. Add heavy whipping cream and simmer until sauce thickens and again is reduced by half. Add green onions and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
  • While sauce is reducing, bring a pot of water to boil to cook noodles. Boil pasta as directed.
  • Drain noodles. Once sauce has reduced add to pasta. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
The 3Jamigos Favorite Pasta Sauce #1

The 3Jamigos Favorite Pasta Sauce #1

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What kid doesn’t like pasta?  My kid’s favorite spaghetti sauce is from Patricia Well’s Trattoria cookbook, a collection of well written, easy to follow Italian recipes, nothing too fancy just delicious, homestyle classic meals.  Meat sauces (Ragu’) generally require hours of cooking but this recipe calls for simmering for approximately 20 minutes.  It has lots of flavor and tastes fresh and light.  You start with a onions, carrots and celery which gives the sauce  sweetness which appeals to kids.  Over the years I have tweeked the recipe a little..like adding butter and basil to finish the sauce, yum.

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So if you are looking for a meat sauce with kid appeal, look no further, this is it!

A little Dino to put you in the pasta mood:

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The 3Jamigos Favorite Pasta Sauce #1

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword pasta, Ragu'
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 1 .5 quarts

Ingredients

  • 1 small yellow onion chopped finely almost minced
  • 1 carrot peeled chopped finely almost minced
  • 1 stalk of celery chopped finely almost minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup italian parsley chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 -1 tsp chili flakes omit if using spicy Italian sausage
  • 8- 12 ounces of a mix of ground beef ground pork and ground veal or you can use 50/50 beef and italian sausage, spicy or mild
  • 1/4 cup vermouth or dry white wine
  • olive oil
  • 2 28 ounce cans of tomatoes San Marzano or domestic, Muir Glen

Instructions

  • I use a food processor to finely chop the vegetables. Heat olive oil in saucepan (min 4 quart size), add onion, carrot, celery, parsley & salt; saute 3-4 minutes until fragrant and soft, add garlic cook additional minute. Add ground meats, cook over medium low heat, until meat is no longer pink. Break up any chunks of meat with a spatula while cooking. Add vermouth and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes.
  • Puree tomatoes using food processor or a food mill. Do not over process, bits of tomatoes are fine, texture is good.
  • Add tomatoes to pan along with chili flakes. Simmer 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. If you like a thicker sauce, leave uncovered, if not, partially cover during simmer. Taste for seasoning.
  • Just before serving add 2 T butter and 1/4 cup julienned or chopped fresh basil.

Notes

Variations: Addition of 1/4 cup finely diced pancetta to ground meats, adds smokiness to dish.
Instead of butter, finish off sauce with 1/4 cup heavy cream.