Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese

By charlotteh371

Note: added the entire tube of tomato paste.
2. used an entire box of mushrooms plus the dried mushrooms.
3. added some vegetable broth plus wine.
4. added the entire container of mascarpone cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
• 1-1/2 cups hot water
• 3 carrots, pelled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 5 ounces assorted mushrooms (like shitake, cremini, and brown), stemmed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 pound rigatoni pasta
• 1/4 cup Parmesan

Preparation

Step 1

Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 1/2 cup very hot water. Set aside and let the mushrooms soften.

Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vetables, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Strain the porcini mushrooms, reserving the porcini mushroom liquid. Add the porcini mushrooms, fresh mushroom, and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the porcini mushroom liquid and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir just until the cheese is incorporated.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta until tender but firm, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the vegetable mixture. If needed, add more of the cooking liquid to moisten the sauce. Toss with Parmesan and serve.