Quick Tofu Bolognese With A Little Twist
The other day I noticed getting quite a few referrals from another blog, Aroma Journal, and was puzzled because both my food blogs were linked under “vegetarian food blogs”. Which is when I realised that, indeed, I post mainly non-meat recipes. Hmmm. That’s not on purpose, it’s just that I don’t cook meat that often because I’m a very picky meat-eater. When I do eat meat it’s mainly pork tenderloin, chicken, a reaaaaaally good piece of steak every once in a while, and mince meat.
The mince meat part reminded me that I’d been thinking of posting this Bolognese recipe for some time but was a bit hesitant. How many of those do people need? But the little twist in this one makes it worth blogging about. A German TV cook, Alexander Herrmann, mentioned on one of his shows that this little twist makes all the difference with a Bolognese sauce, no matter whether it’s the real thing – prepped and cooked for hours – or a quick version, like this one.
This little twist I’m talking about consists of three ingredients, in very small measures – bay leaf, freshly grated nutmeg and ground cloves.
I sometimes add both tomato paste and a vegetable stock cube, but with the brand of tomatoes I use I don’t really need either as they’re very tasty.
This particular version came about because I had Asian mie noodles left over, so I used these instead of cooking spaghetti. Also, this was more of an impromptu dish today due to the weather being really miserable this morning and I felt like comfort food, but I didn’t have any mince meat so I decided to crumble a soft-ish piece of tofu instead. I haven’t eaten tofu in a very long time and have only gotten back to it a couple of months ago, but it worked very well for a vegetarian Bolognese.
Quick Tofu Bolognese With A Little Twist
500 g Spaghetti
500 g soft tofu, crumbled
1 large or 2 small cans chopped tomatoes (I use very finely chopped ones)
olive oil
butter
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 – 3 garlic cloves, chopped
salt
pepper
freshly ground nutmeg
ground cloves
1 bay leaf
parmesan cheese for serving
Sauté chopped onion and garlic in a mix of olive oil and butter, then add the crumbledtofu. Fry until cooked, then season with salt and pepper. [Depending on your type of tofu it will brown like meat would. My version did not.] Add chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, nutmeg (about 5 – 6 slides over your rasp) and a very small amount of ground cloves (if you have a pinch measuring spoon, make it ½ a pinch). Stir well and let simmer while cooking the pasta.
When the Bolognese has a consistency to your liking, remove bay leaf, and serve with the spaghetti and grated parmesan cheese.
You know, I’ve never cooked Bolognese before. Nor had it in Italy. Really must try it one of these days.
Can’t cook without bay leaves. And, with fresh they’re especially delicious in home-made custard. Cloves with green lentils, for some reason. Nutmeg with mushrooms in Autumn.
Your recipe sounds heavenly, btw.
And I’ve never used fresh bay leaves, only the dried variety. Must look out for fresh ones at the market next time.
If you get the chance to use them then I’d suggest one only per dish as their flavour is a lot stronger. It’s subtle, though. And, I wouldn’t store with it overnight. Store separately and reheat with it only.
I love cooking with bay leaves, as well. I have to say that I love bolognese and using tofu as a meat replacement would be wonderful without losing any of the flavor!
Yes, tofu is a great replacement, and I’ll definitely use it again in Bolognese.
Hey there! Here’s another little trick. Try freezing your tofu- then thawing it out. It actually gives it a whole new texture that’s sort of meaty. Sometimes I’ll saute it first with a little salt and spice to give it a little more umph. It’s great for veggie chili too.
Oooh great tip, thank you! One question, though: do you freeze it already crumbled, or in one piece?
I freeze it in the container. Then let it thaw out and you can wrap it in a little paper towel or hand towel to get some of the moisture out. Then crumble it.
Great, thanks! Will try that, have a container in the fridge right now that I won’t be able to use up before its best before date.