Comfort in a bowl – This hearty, vegetarian mushroom bolognese with sweet potato and spinach is the perfect make ahead meal that is sure to warm your heart and soul this cold winter season.
On a frigid, ready-to-drop-from-exhaustion kinda day, I either eat a bowl of cereal and call it a night or gravitate towards a steaming bowl of healthy comfort food…and some cheese. While the latter is a much more satisfying and nourishing option, what’s more convenient than pouring cereal and milk into a bowl? Well..nothing really, but add an extra step of pressing a few buttons on a microwave, and you can have yourself a substantial meal. And that’s what I bring to you today. Now when I’m making a pasta dish, I like to make a huge pot of sauce (this time a vegetarian mushroom bolognese) over the weekend and keep the cooked pasta (drizzled in some olive oil and stored in a tupperware) so that it can be enjoyed as a quick, comforting weeknight meal. It just so happens that I prefer eating the sauce the next day as the flavors have more fully matured.
In Korean cooking, we use a lot of dried mushrooms, especially “pyogo busut” or shiitake. For this dish, I used the European/American variety, porcini mushrooms. I must admit, the dried mushrooms are a bit on the pricier side, BUT they add an incredible amount of flavor. Simply reconstitute them with hot water and watch the magic happen! You’ll immediately catch a whiff of the concentrated aroma that screams umami. Add both the mushrooms and the soaking liquid into the pot, and their meaty/savory texture and flavor contributions more than make up for the not-so-appetizing brownish hue they add to the dish.
Have you tried quinoa pasta? I normally purchase mine from Trader Joe’s, and I’ve become absolutely obsessed. I mean, not only is the taste similar to regular pasta, but it’s a great way to add extra protein to a dish like this vegetarian one. I served the dish with some grated parmesan and basil for freshness. Earthy and rich, this really is perfect for when you’re needing something stick-to-your-ribs good. The mushrooms take center stage as the bold essence of the soaking liquid resonates throughout the sauce. Chock full of nutrients and flavor, what’s not to love?
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups diced sweet potatoes 1/2 in. cubes
- 1 large Portobello mushroom cap gills scraped, cut into ¼ in. cubes
- 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess water removed
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 28 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound pasta of choice I used quinoa penne
- Parmesan
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 ½ cups boiling water. Allow the mushrooms to soften, about 30 minutes. Scoop out, strain, and chop mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid.
- Place the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped vegetables, salt, pepper and oregano, and cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add porcini mushrooms, fresh mushrooms and tomato paste, stirring, and cook until mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add porcini mushroom liquid and red wine. Cook until wine is reduced, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with sauce. Top with cheese and basil, and serve!
That looks so rich and delicious – I love using mushrooms for meaty flavor and texture.
This looks SO hearty and delicious, Min! Adding this to my MUST make list! 🙂
Oh, how I miss those nights (pre-husband and kids) of eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast! This looks amazing Min, and, like you said-pure comfort food! I eat Ancient Harvest corn quinoa pasta all the time, but I’ve never seen the quinoa pasta at Trader Joes-will be on the lookout next time I’m there!
Min, this looks fantastic!! This just might be the perfect comfort food meal…I am making this ASAP when I get home…in the process of moving so minimal cooking happening. The family is going to LOVE this, as am I 🙂
Yum! Such a great idea to use the mushrooms & add sweet potatoes! And these beautiful photos are making me hungry 🙂
This looks incredible Min! And I just picked up a huge bag of dried mushrooms on sale! My grilled cheese sandwich lunch looks really sad right now 🙁
I love dried mushroom! They are perfect for soups!
I never buy dried mushrooms because of what you said – the cost – but I think I might make an exception to try this sauce because it sounds incredible! 😀
I am the SAME way. On a busy week night, you’ll find me eating either a bowl of cereal or a bowl of something cheesy and warm. I love that this would be a bowl of something cheesy and warm and full of veggies! I’ve yet to try cooking with the dried mushrooms, but I want to now!
This is awesome Min! I just made a more traditional Bolognese for my next post, but this vegetarian version looks amazing! I’m a huge fan of quinoa pasta and use it whenever I can.
This looks so hearty! I make my bolognese with lentils, but would love to try it with mushrooms. I’ve tried quinoa pasta and quite liked it! Would definitely buy it again 🙂
That quinoa pasta is my FAVORITE boxed pasta to eat these days. I’m sitting over here starving and drooling over your mushroom-heavy bolognese. Lucas and I were just talking about making a big dish of something to eat for several days this week and I think we’re going to try this – I’ve never made a mushroom bolognese before. Thanks for the recipe, Min!
This looks like a delightful winter meal – hearty and warming but also full of nutrition 🙂
Ohmunahhhh unnie, this is amazing!!!!!! I love pyogo busuht so much that I unabashedly pick them all out sloowwwlly but surely from all the dishes that include the busuht! like japchae, hehe…Beautiful job 😀
I love sweet potatoes. This s a really great recipe to save.