Sunday, April 17, 2011

Drunken Spaghetti

Some of you may or may not know that we do Meatless Monday in our house now, and it is really hard to find REALLY good meatless recipes. I am also not a fan of spaghetti sauce UNLESS your name is Karen Parise, I just don't think it has a lot of flavor, but this recipe was SURPRISINGLY good. SHOCKINGLY GOOD actually. Just thought I would share in case you were looking for a few good ways to incorporate Meatless Monday into your life.

It is a three part sauce from Skinny Italian. . .

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 28 oz can imported Italian plum tomatoes, broken up, with their juices
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 T chopped fresh basil

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and their juices and the tomato paste. Bring just to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the basil. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes.

MILANIA'S MARINARA SAUCE

1 T extra virgin olive oil
12 cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/2 cups BASIC TOMATO SAUCE (see above-recipe makes 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup hearty red wine
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper or crushed hot red pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Move the mushrooms to one side of the saucepan. Add the onion to the empty side of the saucepan and cook, stirring the onion occasionally, until it softens, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, stir everything together and cook until the onion is tender about 2 minutes more.
2. Stir in the tomato sauce, wine, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and well-flavored, at least 30 minutes and up to four hours, but the longer the better! If the sauce gets too thick, add a little water.

DRUNKEN SPAGHETTI

MILANIA'S MARINARA SAUCE
One 750 ml bottle Chardonnay
1 pound spaghetti
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

1. Bring the marinara and 1 cup of wine to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, pour the remaining wine into a large pot, and 3 1/2 quarts lightly salted water, and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the package directions until al dente.
3. Drain the spaghetti and return to the pot. Add the sauce and mix well. Serve hot, with the cheese passed on the side.

1 comments:

Brad said...

I'll go meatless on 2000 and one day. :) OK so maybe never.