Accidental Mushroom Stroganoff
and
Meat-tastic Bolognese Sauce
over
Fresh Fettuccine
Yesterday was Valentine's Day and Lovely Carnivorous Boyfriend (LCBF) and I decided to cook together at home. It took a little while to figure out how to make both of us happy, as LCBF tends to be unenthusiastic about any meal that does not contain 2-6 different kinds of animals and I wind up hungry and cranky without sufficient non-animal protein (a girl cannot live on side dishes alone!). Eventually we decided that I would make fresh pasta and then we would each make our own sauces and have chocolate souffle for dessert (that merits its own post, which is coming in a bit).
He made a bolognese sauce with ground beef and turkey bacon bought at GreenStar, the local co-op market, thus avoiding my fulminations against factory farming (seriously, it's bad news). We had actually tried to stop by The Piggery first, a local, sustainable, pasture farm, but learned that their meat counter is only open on certain days.
I wanted a mushroom goat cheese sauce and found this recipe, but ultimately made most of it up. The result was a creamy, but not overly heavy, sauce reminiscent of a stroganoff. This was an unexpected, but delightful surprise.
Recipe after the jump:
Accidental Mushroom StroganoffServes 1-2
up to 1/2 lb. organic baby portabello mushrooms, sliced thinly (I bought an 8 oz. container and used maybe 6 oz. of it).
about 1/4 c. goat cheese (I used Lively Run again, because I love it)
1 tbl. fresh tarragon, chopped
1 tbl. butter
2 tbl. olive oil
about 1/2 c. organic vegetable broth
salt & pepper
1 tbl. chives, chopped
reserved pasta water
fresh fettuccine
*If you're making your own pasta, roll and cut it first, then cook the sauce, adding the pasta to boiling water after the sauce is almost done. If using dried, start cooking the pasta first.
Melt butter with oil in a pan over med-high heat. Add mushrooms, tarragon, and salt & pepper. Cook 3-5 min. until mushrooms start to brown.
Add about 1/2 c. vegetable broth to pan and simmer until most of the broth is absorbed into the mushrooms and they become a bit creamy--several minutes.
Drain cooked pasta, reserving about a cup of pasta water.
Add pasta and goat cheese to pan. Toss to coat, adding a little pasta water as necessary to help thin and coat the pasta. Serve topped with chives.
The end result was creamy and a little tangy, but light enough that it didn't overpower the fresh noodles. Very, very good.
Carnivore verdict: "It was good! It was stroganoff-y without the beef." Exactly.
UPDATE: LCBF provides his meat-tastic recipe:
"Bolognese is very easy since the main idea is meat. Much of the recipe is just a feel for what you want it to taste like. So forgive some inexactness in the measurements. Also, I used applewood smoked turkey bacon which was good for its smokey taste but bad for its low fat content. I used it merely because I didn't have pork bacon on hand. Don't you make the same mistake.
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 - 1/2 lb. bacon (diced)
Any other meat you can think of (e.g. veal, lamb, etc.)
1 small-to-medium onion (I like spanish onions)
optional:
1 carrot (diced)
2-3 celery stalks (diced)
2-3 cloves garlic (diced fine)
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 tsp. nutmeg
Salt, pepper, thyme, basil, oregano to taste
1 glass red wine
1 cup broth (beef preferably)
2 tbl. tomato paste
1 ripe (i.e. juicy) tomato (diced)
1-2 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. butter
1/2 cup cream (1/2 & 1/2 or whole milk works too)
Brown the bacon. Then add the onion to cook in the bacon grease. If need be add the olive oil now.
Once the onions have cooked a bit, and are soft, add the rest of the meat. Cook until browned. If using the carrots and celery, add after meat is browned and cook down. Also add garlic and other assorted spices.
Once everything is cooked down a bit, add the tomato paste and mix it in. At this point the bottom of the pan should be getting a bit browned. Add the red wine and de-glaze.
After the pan is de-glazed and the wine has simmered off just a bit add the tomato and broth. Simmer on med-low heat for at least 15 minutes (and as long as 90 minutes).
approx 3 minutes before serving stir in the butter and cream.
serve with some crusty bread and shredded cheese.
The sauce keeps great for several days."
UPDATE: LCBF provides his meat-tastic recipe:
"Bolognese is very easy since the main idea is meat. Much of the recipe is just a feel for what you want it to taste like. So forgive some inexactness in the measurements. Also, I used applewood smoked turkey bacon which was good for its smokey taste but bad for its low fat content. I used it merely because I didn't have pork bacon on hand. Don't you make the same mistake.
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 - 1/2 lb. bacon (diced)
Any other meat you can think of (e.g. veal, lamb, etc.)
1 small-to-medium onion (I like spanish onions)
optional:
1 carrot (diced)
2-3 celery stalks (diced)
2-3 cloves garlic (diced fine)
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
1-2 tsp. nutmeg
Salt, pepper, thyme, basil, oregano to taste
1 glass red wine
1 cup broth (beef preferably)
2 tbl. tomato paste
1 ripe (i.e. juicy) tomato (diced)
1-2 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. butter
1/2 cup cream (1/2 & 1/2 or whole milk works too)
Brown the bacon. Then add the onion to cook in the bacon grease. If need be add the olive oil now.
Once the onions have cooked a bit, and are soft, add the rest of the meat. Cook until browned. If using the carrots and celery, add after meat is browned and cook down. Also add garlic and other assorted spices.
Once everything is cooked down a bit, add the tomato paste and mix it in. At this point the bottom of the pan should be getting a bit browned. Add the red wine and de-glaze.
After the pan is de-glazed and the wine has simmered off just a bit add the tomato and broth. Simmer on med-low heat for at least 15 minutes (and as long as 90 minutes).
approx 3 minutes before serving stir in the butter and cream.
serve with some crusty bread and shredded cheese.
The sauce keeps great for several days."
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