Giada De Laurentiis Rigatoni With Vegetable Bolognese Recipes

RIGATONI WITH VEGETABLE BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with 1 1/2 cups 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 vegetables, 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 mushrooms, 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 mascarpone cheese and stir just until the cheese is incorporated.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and add to the vegetable mixture. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid, if necessary, to moisten the sauce. Toss with Parmesan and serve.

RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE, ARTICHOKES, AND ASPARAGUS

Steps:

• Heat the oil that was reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add sausage and cook until browned; break up the meat as it cooks.
• When brown and cooked all over, transfer sausage to a bowl with a slotted spoon.
• Add artichokes, asparagus, and garlic to the skillet and saute over medium heat, until garlic is tender, about 2 minutes.
• Add the broth, wine, and sun-dried tomatoes. Boil over medium-high heat until sauce is slightly reduced, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Salt water and cook pasta according to package directions.
• Drain pasta.
• Add pasta, reserved sausage, 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, basil, and parsley to the artichoke mixture.
• Toss everything together until sauce is nearly absorbed by the pasta.
• Stir in mozzarella cheese, if using.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with extra cheese to pass at table.