Tuesday, January 3, 2012

"Meaty" Eggplant Bolognese

Might I add.. This may be my best picture to date!

So day #2 of healthy recipes. I was pretty exciting to make and eat this dish because I love eggplant and it is super healthy! Eggplant has a ton of fiber, which keeps you fuller longer. When paired with whole wheat pasta you get even more fiber. Not to mention this is delicious. Eggplant has a meaty texture so trust me when I tell you, you will not miss the meat! I'm not sure which is better, the fact that it is healthy or that there is red wine in it. Adding a touch of red wine to tomato sauce makes it super decadent so I say 1 Point red wine.  I found this recipe from my Whole Foods iPhone app, which is awesome for finding tons of healthy recipes. You can also make grocery lists from it to send to your phone. Pretty awesome!



Serves 8

Ingredients
1 cup dry red wine
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), peeled and chopped
12 ounces button or cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added crushed or diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided
1 pound whole wheat or other whole grain pasta

Method

Bring red wine to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook ,stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and very tender and most of the wine has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add eggplant, mushrooms and rosemary and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, broth and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in almond milk and 2 tablespoons chopped basil.

To serve, cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain thoroughly. Serve sauce over pasta and garnish with remaining basil.

You will never miss the meat in this dish. Enjoy!



10 comments:

  1. I am bookmarking this, it looks great! I'm trying to find more vegetarian dinners to make, I have to try this one:).

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  2. Thanks Ally! It was really yummy. And I ate it for lunch and I would say it is even better next day!

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  3. It really was Shannon! It is one of my favorite vegetarian meals!

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  4. Visiting from wiaw...this looks so good! I only have a handful of eggplant recipes that I like, I'll have to try this one!

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  5. Oh good Laura! Try it out. I think you will like it. I don't have many eggplant recipes either. This one is a keeper! And omg...don't you just LOVE WIAW!

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  6. I am SO BUMMED right now. I posted it on WIAW and it was loading and I refreshed and it was there. I even tweeted about it. How embarrassing! Sorry Jenn. Thought it was there. I will double check when I post next week. :(

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  7. As much of a carnivore as I am, eggplant is something I'd eat in place of meat any day of the week. This looks outstanding and is now part of my recipe collection. Thanks!

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  8. I'm glad you liked it! If you make it, let me know how it comes out!!

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