Recipe: Meat sauce without the meat?

Even carnivores will take to this rich, flavorful pasta dinner.

TNS Photo

By Alli Berkey

America’s Test Kitchen

We amped up the “meatiness” in this vegetarian pasta sauce by using a full pound of savory cremini mushrooms and a hefty amount of tomato paste.

Rigatoni with Quick Mushroom Bolognese

Serves 4

1 pound rigatoni

3/4 teaspoon table salt, plus salt for cooking pasta

1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped fine

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus extra for serving

Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, drain pasta and return it to pot.
Meanwhile, pulse mushrooms in a food processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses. Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add mushrooms, onion, carrot, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook until mushrooms appear dry and begin to stick to the bottom of the skillet, about 14 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook until fond forms on the bottom of the skillet, about 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved cooking water and bring to boil. Add sauce and cheese to pasta in the pot and stir to combine. Serve with extra cheese.

For 25 years, home cooks have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. The family of brands — which includes Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country — offers reliable recipes for cooks of all skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.