Bolognese Baked Tortelloni

 

I like eating lasagna, but I don't like making it. It's just a little too tedious for me....and I also am not a fan of ricotta cheese. So I find myself drawn to recipes that give me all of the taste of lasagna...but in a dish that is far easier to make and foregoes ricotta.

And so it goes with this dish. The only real work involved is making the "Bolognese Sauce". I put that in quotes because this Lauren Miyashiro recipe uses a simpler, quasi-Bolognese Sauce. Bolognese Sauce, the real deal, requires massive amounts of knife-chopping prep and 3 to 4 hours of simmering. Her sauce comes together in about 10 minutes. Becky and I found it to be a delicious and reasonable facsimile.

So the bottom layer is a breeze....uncooked tortelloni. Just spread it on the bottom of the dish and it gets cooked as the dish bakes. You can use ravioli or tortellini as well...really makes no difference. The next layer is the Bolognese Sauce. Then you top it with a heap of mozzarella cheese and slide it into the oven.

This makes for a perfect weeknight dinner. You just cut it into squares to serve....just like lasagna. Lauren's recipe will serve 6 to 8 folks, depending on how hungry everybody is. We served it as a Saturday night dinner for four and had enough to freeze for another like gathering.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 pound ground beef

3/4 pound hot Italian sausage

1/2 cup red wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1, 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2, 9-ounce packages fresh (refrigerated) cheese tortelloni

3 cups shredded mozarella

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sliced basil, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a large baking dish with oil. In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook, stirring, until soft, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add ground beef, sausage and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Drain fat.
2. Return beef mixture to skillet over medium heat and pour in wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pan. Cook until reduced by about half, then add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, oregano and season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.
3. Put uncooked tortellini in prepared baking dish. Pour over meat sauce and stir until coated. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan, then cover dish tightly with foil.
4. Cook for 30 minutes, then remove foil and cook for additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is browned. Then slice and serve, garnishing each serving with basil.

Wine pairing: Chianti

Gulaschsuppe

 

Last month I introduced you to Hungarian Goulash....a hearty stew that is the national dish of Hungary. This month, I am introducing you to a German variation of that stew. While many of the same flavors are present, this recipe is actually a beef soup. Gulaschsuppe is German for Goulash Soup. It's a hearty and oh so delicious take on the stew...seasoned with paprika, thyme, caraway, marjoram, onion and garlic.

This is a slow cooker recipe, as I like to use chuck roast for its spectacular marbling. After 8 hours of cooking, the beef will just melt in your mouth. If you want to eat on a shorter schedule, substitute lean sirloin for the chuck roast. You'll still brown the meat, sauté the onions and garlic and dump them in a large pot. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, then cover and simmer for just one hour...and you are good to go.

And one last thing....make sure you serve this soup with crusty bread. It is considered a crime against humanity to not serve bread with soup. Don't be that person. And warm that bread in a 350º oven for 15 minutes before serving.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons avocado oil

2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1" cubes

2 medium onions, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1-1/2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground marjoram

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground in a mortar and pestal

4 cups beef stock

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add avocado oil, then brown chuck roast in batches (about 2 to 3 minutes per side). When done, add beef to slow cooker.
2. Add onions to skillet and sauté until soft (about 5 minutes). Add garlic to onions, sauté an additional 30 seconds, then add onion/garlic mixture to the slow cooker.
3. Add the next 12 ingredients to the slow cooker and mix well. Set slow cooker temperature to low, cover and cook soup for 8 hours.
4. After 8 hours, taste soup and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as desired.
5. Serve soup in bowls with crusty bread for dipping.

Wine pairing: Syrah