Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Vegetarian Italian Wedding II

Okay so this is a little more true to form because I've found a fake meat I really enjoy. Field Roast Grain Meats are really delicious and I've been buying them more lately and trying to use them to enhance dishes that would benefit from a more meaty presence and texture. I use the Italian sausage in this recipe.

Cook up a pound or so of Great Northern beans (I soak for 2 hours, then pressure cook for one hour to get them creamy). Add 2 C beans to 6C water in a large saucepan and cover to bring to a boil. Add some salt here too, unless you've already salted the beans (canned beans are often quite salty). Before the soup reaches a boil I also add a Tb or so of mixed dried thyme, basil and oregano. A dash of something hot is good too.

Finely chop the following: one medium onion, a few mushrooms (creminis are great here if you have them), some sun dried tomatoes (3-4) and two Italian sausages. Saute in a pan with a little olive oil until brown (the onions should be translucent) and add to the pot of soup along with 1/4 C chopped fresh basil.

Dump 1/3-1/4 of a one pound bag of frozen cauliflower to the soup and bring to a full boil (uncovered). Add 1-2 C dried pasta (I like farfalle and orzo [add only 1/4-1/2 C orzo]) and cook until al dente or tender. Top with mozzarella or parmesan or a combination.

Really good with fresh bread on a cool autumn night.

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