The Gouda Life

This past weekend was one of the first in a while Mr. GL and I had completely to ourselves. To do whatever we want, with whoever we want, at any time we wanted. I know we don’t have kids, and it’s weird to think that we don’t often have a lot of time spent like that, but it’s true. Between Mr. GL’s job + band, my full time job, cooking, photography, editing, writing and trying to look after 4 animals, there are few hours left in the days to spend canoodling on the couch. 
And so we canoodled. And we ate. And we slept in. And we did a lot of nothing.

However, the two things we did manage to do were the perfect lazy weekend activities. First we ventured into the Hintonburg neighbourhood to visit  Urban Craft, a once-monthly craft market that houses some of Ottawa’s most talented ladies and gentlemen I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. As this was our first visit, we were both extremely taken aback to see the caliber of talent that comes out to sell their wares. I came home with a beautiful feather and vintage button hair piece from Flights of Fancy, a pair of delicate drop earrings made by Chelsy Anne, and a little jar of the most wonderful hand-balm from Purple Urchin to keep my over-washed mitts silky smooth through the winter. I am anxiously awaiting the next market so I can buy even more wonderful local products. 



The second thing we managed to get out of our pajamas for was a Sunday supper with Mr. GL’s band-mate, Jordan, and his lovely lady, Staci. As we all are well aware, Sunday to me means comfort food. And comfort food more often than not translates to Pasta alla Bolognese. Though I don’t know many who don’t totally flip out for a bowl of rich, meaty bolognese, I thought I should be polite and check with our guests to make sure it was something they’d enjoy. And as it turns out, Staci is a vegetarian… so it’s a darn good thing I did.

I was inspired to make a vegetarian pasta sauce that mimicked the texture and richness of a bolognese, so I did a little poking around and came across The Wednesday Chef’s Mushroom Ragu. It looked as close to a meat-sauce as one could hope to get without a pound of beef, though it’s safe to assume that while delicious, it’s not bolognese. But it’s not supposed to be, so let’s be clear about that now before we go any further. I don’t want to share things under false pretenses here, friends. We don’t do that. 



The sauce was brilliant. Thick and “meaty” with a richness that really makes it feel like you’re getting a good old fashion meat sauce. I adapted the recipe slightly to add a bit of spice and a few dashes of soy that really gave it an extra kick of savoury umami flavour. If you have a vegetarian in your family that misses the comforts of pasta with meat sauce, this is as close as you’ll come to the real thing without the real thing. Even for the non vegetarians, this is an excellent alternative when you want something lighter, or if you’re just trying to cut meat out a few times a week. 



Bucatini with Mushroom Ragu
adapted from The Wednesday Chef

Though I adore Bucatini for this recipe, you are welcome to switch the pasta up to whatever you like best. 

Store-bought tapenade is fine, but try to buy one without too many ingredients. The fresher, the better. 

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/2 cup chopped onion
1lb cremini mushrooms, chopped fine
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp black olive tapenade
1/3 cup red wine
2 tsp soy sauce 
1 tbsp fresh oregano, minced
pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces bucatini
Parmesan or Peccorino 
fresh thyme or oregano, for garnish (optional)

Coat a large sauce pan over medium heat with olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and saute until soft. Add the mushrooms and let them cook until they release their juices, 8-10 minutes.



Add the tomato paste and tapenade. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add the red wine and soy sauce and cook until reduced a touch, 7-8 minutes. Add the oregano and season to your liking with salt and pepper. Keep warm with the lid on while you cook your pasta to al dente according to package instructions. 



Before straining pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking water. Add the strained pasta back to a large pot and add the ragu, 1/4 cup of starchy water and 1/4 grated Parmesan. Toss gently to combine. 



Serve with extra Parmesan and a pinch of fresh herbs. 

I know what you’re thinking. What in the name of holy hell is this maniac doing standing over a hot stove for 6 hours in this heat? Perhaps she dipped into the Chardonnay a little too early in the day [and really, what would be so terrible about that?] While often that would ring true, it wasn’t the case this time. It was a recipe I tried a few months back and didn’t post until now. So it’s not that I’m crazy… I’m just lazy. Which is so much better, right? Right?

This dish is everything a Sunday dinner should be. You get up, go to the market, spend hours working on it and reap the rewards when that first bite, dripping with rich, brown, meaty flavour hits your tongue. It’s the exact sort of dinner I crave, not only to eat but to cook, when I have days to myself. Even if you’re not totally gung-ho on spending 6 hours in front of a stove… I do so hope you’ll give this a go on a crisp day in November. There is nothing like it to warm the soul.

I happened to make it on a day when Allan wasn’t home. So I ate it alone. A LOT of it. And I can’t say that I enjoyed it any less. It makes incredible leftovers, and freezes perfectly. We enjoyed a lasagna bolognese later in the month…and I highly recommend you try the same. Just replace your regular meat sauce with this.

I got this recipe from chef Ann Burrell of The Food Network. Her recipes, much like her, are always big and bold and full of deep, layered flavour.

Bolognese Sauce
adapted from Chef Anne Burrell 

1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
3 ribs of celery
3 large cloves of garlic, rough chopped
Olive oil, enough to coat your pot/pan
3lbs lean ground beef [I used chuck and round]
2 cups tomato paste
3 cups full-bodied red wine [I used a shiraz/cab]
Water, whatever you use to drink is fine.
Couple bay leaves
1 bunch of Thyme
kosher salt

1lbs (approx) spaghetti, spaghettini, linguine
1/2C-1C fresh grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano
Good finishing olive oil (optional)

Start by pureeing the carrot, onion, garlic, and celery in a food processor until it becomes a paste a little thicker than baby food. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan [like a dutch oven] over meadium-high heat. Once the oil has started to ripple, add in the vegetable paste and a few generous pinches of coarse salt and stir frequently until all the liquid from the vegetables is gone. Be patient with this step as it’s important to the overall flavour of the sauce. You want it to be fairly browned before you move on to your next step. This should take about 20 minutes.

Add the ground beef and season again with a few pinches of salt. Stir and break up the meat and then let it cook for another 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often. This is another chance to get really brown (rich) flavour in your sauce.

Add the tomato paste and stir for a bout 5 minutes until it has brown slightly with the rest of the veggies/meat. Add the red wine and stir, scrapping any stuck on bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine has reduced by about half. It should take about another 5 minutes for this to happen.

Add the bay leaves and thyme to the pot. Add water to the pan until it reaches 1 inch above the meat. Give everything a good stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and stir occasionally.

You will need to add roughly 3 more cups of water throughout the cooking process (3.5-4 hours). DO NOT add all the water at once unless you want a boiled meat sauce. Add 1/2 - 1C water at a time and just until it’s slightly above the meat line. Be sure to reduce the water until very little is left before you add more. This really helps develop the flavours. Taste often and SEASON WITH SALT!!! It will more than likely need more salt as it cooks.

When you have about 30 more minutes of cooking time, bring a large pot of water to a boil and season well with salt (it should taste like the ocean!). Add your pasta and cook until it has slightly more bite than al dente. Spaghetti should take about 6-7 minutes. Reserve 1/2C of the pasta water before you strain it.

Remove half the sauce and reserve (let cool and freeze, this will be your leftover sauce).

Add the pasta to the remaining sauce until it’s a 1:1 (pasta:sauce) ratio. Add the 1/2C of reserved pasta water and cook over medium heat until the water has reduced. Add your Parmesan and a drizzle of god olive oil to finish.

This sauce deserves to be served with a damned good bottle of wine. And some really awesome people to share it with. After all, food always tastes better that way!