With the cold weather upon us, we crave hearty pasta dishes. Traditional Pasta Bolognese is a wonderful comforting dinner. Can we make it healthier and quicker? You bet!
Enlightened Bolognese - It’s what’s for dinner tonight.
On a cold winter day, who wouldn't love a hearty bowl of pasta Bolgonese? Just one or two problems. One: long cooking times and two, lots of fat. Could I make a quick and healthy version that wouldn’t leave us pining for more flavor? One of my favorite recipes includes veal, pork and lamb, as well as chicken livers. Oh yeah, and 1 C of heavy cream. Yikes.
I decided to use what I had on hand (too cold to even run across the street!) and make a lighter version of this hearty pasta dinner.
- Instead of beef, pork, lamb I used veal. Ground turkey could be substituted and vegans could use ground tofu packaged to replace beef in such dishes.
- Instead of sautéing my veggies with pancetta, I used only olive oil. Yummy and heart-healthy, too.
- Instead of heavy cream, or even half and half called for in many recipes; I used 1% milk and 2 oz of fat free half and half.
Overall, I was able to reduce the fat in a traditional recipe by about half and bring the percent of saturated fat down to 20% as compared to 56% or more. Cholesterol was reduced from 70% to 33%.
I added a cup of chopped fresh kale which I had on hand. Not a traditional Bolognese sauce ingredient but it was Tuscan Kale and it adds vitamins and minerals and great color.
My only concession to tradition was to use regular pasta instead of the Kamut Spirals I had tried to lobby for. Next time, perhaps.
Enlightened Pasta Bolognese
Serves 2 ravenous diners or 4-6 normal people
- ¾ lb ground veal or turkey
- 1 c chopped Chantenay carrots
- ½ c chopped shallots
- 1 c chopped kale (optional)
- ½ C celery, chopped fine
- 2-3 small garlic cloves, minced
- 4 TBSP olive oil
- 1 C dry white wine
- 1 C 1% milk + 2 oz fat free half and half
- 1 C tomatoes (Pomi chopped tomatoes, a great pantry item, work well here)
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- Fresh grated nutmeg to taste; thyme, rosemary, oregano, to taste
- Fresh ground black pepper (floral varieties work especially well here, see Black Peppercorns, Good as Gold)
Put water on for pasta. Traditional shape is tagliatelle. I like something with more shape to catch the sauce.
Prepare salad or greens to accompany.
- Saute carrots, shallot, kale, garlic, celery in olive oil. Careful not to burn the shallots and garlic.
- Add veal to brown; season with salt & pepper, add herbs. Add freshly grated nutmeg.(Your pasta is probably ready to go in now.)
- Add white wine, scraping up any carmelized bits (we call it “fond” not “yum-yums”) on the bottom.
- Add tomatoes. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally. The sauce should reduce and thicken a bit here. Taste and correct seasonings.
- Add milk and half and half and watch heat. You only want to warm it and blend it in at this point.
Add freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Notes:
- Traditionally this is a very smooth sauce, you can puree some or all of it, or use an immersion blender if you to achieve that. This version is more rustic.
- Chantenay carrots are an heirloom variety that work particularly well in this dish due to their sweetness.
- I use a crinkle cut garnishing tool to make carrot cubes with ridges to catch sauce. The tool also enables you to make great veggie chips for dip, or to create contrasting shapes for soups and stirfries.
- While you're chopping the carrots, why not chop some extra? You can use them in tomorrow's salad or soup. Or, you can blanch them in the pasta water, then drain and freeze them and you've saved yourself prep time for the next recipe.
- Freshly grated nutmeg is far superior to the old stale nutmeg that's been sitting on your shelf or the supernmarket's - losing potency.
