Pasta with Vegan Beef & Broccolini

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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This is very easy & pretty yummy.  And if you allow that olive oil and S&P are not really ingredients – this only has 5 ingredients!  I used Beyond Meat beefy crumbles because they are my go-to brand for vegan meats.  Their products are versatile & delicious.  Go to the site to find a store near you & get a coupon!

I actually used leftover meat from my vegan meatball recipe (seen above) but the crumbles right of the bag would be great, too.

I used a head of broccolini (broccoli rabe, rapini, baby broccoli) but regular broccoli would be great.

Pasta with Vegan Beef & Broccolini

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb pasta – cooked & drained

1 (9 oz) bag of vegan ground beef

1 head broccoli – chopped (1-2 cups)

1-4 heads garlic (to taste) – chopped

olive oil

1 tsp or more (to taste) crushed red pepper

S&P

Fresh parsley as garnish – optional

(Other seasonings that might be nice are dry basil, oregano or other spices you like in your ground beef.)

DIRECTIONS

Cook the pasta.

Meanwhile, heat about 1-2 TBS olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add the beef & broccolini & saute on medium-high until the broccolini softens.  You can add a TBS or two of water to aid in the steaming process.  Season with S&P & crushed red pepper.   Two minutes before you are going to serve it, add the garlic.  Cook for two minutes.  Add the cooked pasta & toss.  Garnish with parsley & fresh cracked pepper.  If the dish seems dry, a little drizzle of a good quality olive oil is nice.  A drizzle of olive oil on most pizzas & pastas is nice but it must be good quality oil.

Homemade Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Broccoli Rabe & Poached Eggs

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

~

I like my men like my broccoli – bitter.  Of course I jest.  Bitter guys suck.  But bitter broccoli (broccoli rabe) or bitter cocktails (Campari)?  Bring it!

This dish was not a complete success last night.  I got it into my head that I wanted to make a pasta dish with a runny poached egg atop it & I wanted to take glorious photos of it.  But, who knew poaching eggs was so tricky?  Even using an egg poacher I almost forgot I owned – this was still tricky.

The primary issue is timing.  You want the egg yolk very runny so that it can blend into your hot pasta & fresh cheese & create a creamy sauce.  That doesn’t happen if your yolk is cooked.  But who likes runny WHITES?  Nobody.  So you gotta time it perfectly.  I didn’t.  See?

Too cooked.  What I learned is, you must time it so that there is still a little give to your egg whites & then allow the hot pasta to cook them – the whites – through when you mix the egg into your bowl.  Look again at the top picture.  You can see that there is still the slightest gooeyness to the whites but that quickly disappeared as the warmth from the pasta finished the job.  And – the yolk was perfect.

Another issue I had was that I burned the garlic.  This image shows the garlic with a large quantity of crushed red pepper but I think you can still see that it is completely browned.

Burned garlic is bitter & when added to the bitter rabe & without the benefit of a properly poached egg to mellow it out – I must confess this dish was a tad too bitter for me.  But that was due to errors in my execution – not the recipe itself.  So – I will post the recipe & encourage you not to overcook either the garlic or the egg.  And – as to the egg – Google “how to poach an egg.”  I mean – unless you are already an expert.

And, just as an aside – look how handsome my boy Memphis is!

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Homemade Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Broccoli Rabe & Poached Eggs

INGREDIENTS

1 lb pasta (or four servings homemade cracked pepper pasta)

1 head broccoli rabe – stems trimmed

1/2 cup water or stock

4 cloves garlic – minced

1 TBS crushed red pepper

2 TBS olive oil

4 eggs

Parmesan cheese – freshly grated

Parsley – chopped

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Make your pasta – if you are making it fresh.

Chop the broccoli rabe into bite sized pieces.  Heat the water/stock to a boil in a frying pan & add the broccoli rabe.  Cook on high for about ten minutes or until the rabe is tender & the water mostly cooked off.

In another pan, heat the olive oil & saute the garlic & crushed red pepper over medium heat for a minute or two – being careful not to brown the garlic.  Add the rabe to the olive oil & blend.

Cook the pasta.  About 1-2 minutes before the pasta is done – poach the eggs.   Drain the pasta, toss with the broccoli rabe, top each bowl with freshly grated Parmesan, a poached egg & some fresh parsley and maybe more crushed red pepper & freshly ground black pepper.   Mmmmmmmm!

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Broccoli Rabe & Pistachio Pesto with Whole Wheat Pasta & Shirataki

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

~

Ok – yeah.  This is the same broccoli rabe pesto from my Mashed Cauliflower with Broccoli Rabe Pesto, Seared Mushrooms & Vegan Gravy.  Same pics of that pesto, too.  Sometimes it gets overwhelming keeping this blog up.  Sometimes it gets expensive.  Sometimes, I make a large quantity of something & feel obligated to use it all.  This dish is the result of some leftover pesto and leftover spaghetti.  Originally, I made the whole wheat spaghetti (a full pound) with two bags of Shirataki Fettucine

Adding the virtually guiltless shirataki to regular pasta stretches the dish out & reduces the calorie & carbohydrate consumed in a serving.   Originally, I had added olive oil, steamed cauliflower, lots of crushed red pepper & garlic to the noodles.  So – it was the remainder of those noodles to which I added the broccoli rabe & pistachio pesto.  The result was delicious.  This could be made with any kind of pasta, including a dish entirely comprised of shirataki.  Simple & easy.  The pesto should keep in the fridge for at least a week.  This pesto lends itself very well to the robust qualities of whole wheat pasta but regular pasta works well, too.

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Broccoli Rabe & Pistachio Pesto with Whole Wheat Pasta & Shirataki

INGREDIENTS

1 lb pasta – any variety you prefer – whole wheat or otherwise

2 bags Shirataki (optional)

1 head of broccoli rabe

1 cup pistachios (or other nut) – toasted

1 heaping cup grated Parmesan

4 garlic cloves

3/4 cup olive oil

S&P to taste

Shaved Parmesan for garnish

Fresh parsley for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

If using shirataki, drain & rinse.

Toast the pistachios in a dry pan, being careful not to burn them, until just fragrant.  Set aside.

Trim the rough stems from the broccoli rabe & immerse in boiling water for 3-5 minutes – until tender.  Drain & rinse in cold water.  Squeeze out all the excess fluid.

In a food processor, pulse the cheese & garlic & nuts until they are a fine dice.  Then simply add the rest of the ingredients & pulse until pureed.  If it is too thick – add a small amount of water (or more olive oil).  Set aside.

Cook your pasta according to package instructions.  Add shirataki (if using), in the last minute, just to heat through.

Drain pasta & toss with a portion (to taste – but likely not even half) of the pesto.

Garnish with cheese & parsley & fresh cracked pepper.

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Mashed Cauliflower with Broccoli Rabe Pesto, Seared Mushrooms & Vegan Gravy

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

~

This is comfort food at its finest.  Each of these components can be used individually of the others.  The gravy can be used any way you would use gravy.  The pesto would be great over pasta, as a base on pizza or on crostini – or any other way you might be inspired to use pesto.  It is a tad bitter – as broccoli rabe is wont to be – but I think that is its appeal.  The mashed cauliflower is a genius, light substitute for mashed potatoes & even the seared mushrooms could be used in pasta or risotto, on pizza or on crostini with some lovely meltable cheese – like goat or mozzarella or a bit of a blue cheese.

The mashed cauliflower can be made vegan (though it is not here) by simply using your vegan version of heavy cream or by replacing the cream entirely with a little veggie stock & vegan butter or just the veggie stock.   Roasted garlic could be added or cheese or anything you might like to add to your traditional mashed potato recipe.  It is as customizable as its potato counterpart.

My presentation here is not as I imagined.  I wanted to present it in a more sturdy tower like my Brown Rice & Quinoa Risotto with Arrabiata & Shrimp or my No Carb & 120 Calorie Shirataki Pasta Alla Checca – seen below respectively.

Despite trying to limit the amount of heavy cream in the recipe, thereby keeping the texture of the mashed cauliflower pretty firm, I failed & my cauliflower wasn’t resilient enough to stand upright.  It didn’t effect how delicious this side dish is, though.   You can elect to reduce the cream in it if you want a less creamy, less mushy result.  Ramekins (or narrow bowls) can be used to tier the ingredients & then just flip the cauliflower-pesto layers onto a plate & top with mushrooms & gravy.  This can be eaten alone or as a side dish with a nice piece of grilled fish or other meat.  If the entire dish overwhelms you (there are many steps but all are SUPER simple) – please try at least one of the elements – the mashed cauliflower or the pesto or the vegan gravy – on their own.

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Mashed Cauliflower with Broccoli Rabe Pesto, Seared Mushrooms & Vegan Gravy

INGREDIENTS

For the mashed cauliflower

2 heads cauliflower – boiled soft

2/3 cups (or less) heavy cream (or vegan substitute)

S&P to taste

For the broccoli rabe pesto

1 head of broccoli rabe

1 cup pistachios (or other nut) – toasted

1 heaping cup grated Parmesan

4 garlic cloves

3/4 cup olive oil

S&P to taste

For the seared mushrooms

8 large mushrooms – sliced thin

8 garlic cloves – chopped

1 TBS Marsala (optional)

Olive oil

S&P to taste

For the vegan gravy

7 medium shallots – whole & unpeeled

10 (or to taste) garlic cloves – whole

olive oil

5 large mushrooms – sliced thin

1 tsp fresh thyme

3 TBS flour

1/2 cup Marsala (optional)

2 TBS low sodium soy sauce

3 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp dry sage

1 tsp Dijon mustard

S&P to taste

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

DIRECTIONS

For the mashed cauliflower

Maybe do this step LAST just before serving – so mashed cauliflower maintains its heat.  Also – skip down to the gravy recipe below & roast the shallots & garlic first so they are ready when you need them.

Boil the cauliflower until very tender.  Puree in a food processor with heavy cream and S&P.

For the broccoli rabe pesto

Toast the pistachios in a dry pan, being careful not to burn them, until just fragrant.  Set aside.

Trim the rough stems from the broccoli rabe & immerse in boiling water for 3-5 minutes – until tender.  Drain & rinse in cold water.  Squeeze out all the excess fluid.

In a food processor, pulse the cheese & garlic & nuts until they are a fine dice.  Then simply add the rest of the ingredients & pulse until pureed.  If it is too thick – add a small amount of water (or more olive oil).  Set aside.

For the seared mushrooms

Heat 1-2 TBS olive oil in a saute pan.  Add the mushrooms & garlic (and 1/2 tsp salt) & stir over high heat until the mushrooms begin to brown.  Add the Marsala (if using) & cook it off.  Add S&P, remove from heat  & set aside.

For the vegan gravy

Toss the unpeeled shallots & whole garlic cloves in 1 tsp olive oil & wrap in foil.  Roast in an oven heated to 350 for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat & allow to cool.  When cool enough to handle, squeeze the shallots out of their skins into a food processor.  Add the garlic & puree until smooth.  Set aside.

In the same pan you used for the seared mushrooms, heat another 2 TBS olive oil & heat the mushrooms & thyme & cook over high heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the flour & stir to coat.  Add the Marsala (if using) & cook it off & then add the stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the gravy to thicken a bit after each addition.  When all the stock is incorporated, add the pureed shallots & garlic, soy sauce, sage, Dijon and S&P to taste.  Allow to simmer about 15 minutes.

To assemble, either use a culinary ring like THIS or use a ramekin or narrow bowl.  Simply layer some mashed cauliflower, then some pesto & then more cauliflower & flip onto a plate.  Top with seared mushrooms & gravy & some chopped parsley serve.

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