Wine and dine.

Valentine's  Day is just around the corner and if you're looking for something special to make that's easy and quick, don't worry cause I got you.

I feel like pasta is always a safe choice for V Day because, let's be real, who doesn't love pasta? You can make anything out of it, whether it's a simple take or a very indulgent one. Naturally, it's an NMM kind of day so today's dish will have no meat but will have a source of protein- my ever favorite, chickpeas.

See, I still love my pastas with meat but obviously I can't do that on my no meat day. As much as I love making simple no meat sauces, I miss the meat-like texture/grit sometimes. I started racking my brain up for meat-like textures until I had a light bulb moment: I remembered the sloppy joes I made months ago. I  remembered how fascinated I was with the pulsed chickpeas texture because it felt exactly like, you guessed it, ground meat. So here we are, a pasta dish with a few extra special bits added.

What makes a bolognese sauce special? The addition of red wine. Everyday tomato-based sauces don't need red wine but this one does. The red wine just adds a lot of character and oomph to the dish so I say don't skip it and don't skimp on it because trust me, it makes a whole lot of difference. Carrots also appear on this dish and it's up to you on how small or chunky you want your carrots to be. I made mine a good size of chunky, not too big that all you eat are the carrots but not too small that you don't even know they're there. I like the texture carrots give and given that this is a simple dish to make, I welcome the added crunch.

Now for the chickpeas. For this to work, you have to pulse them (after removing the skins, of course) to the right texture. For me, the right texture should just be right before they turn to sand. You don't want to overpulse these babies because they will turn mushy and paste-like and you don't want that. You want a gritty-like look and feel. Remember: they should look and feel like cooked ground meat: coarse and a bit dry. Don't worry, they'll get all the hydration they need from the sauce. Speaking of which, the chickpeas will soak up the sauce so make sure you have enough liquid on hand to thin the sauce out. Just eyeball it while cooking, okay?

As you can see in the recipe below, I have two options for the tomatoes. This will just boil down to color, really. Diced tomatoes can sometimes look pale and sad, especially when added with water

Pair with a glass of red wine, serve with noodles of choice and with as much cheese as you want. Don't worry, no one will judge. ;)

Enjoy!

PASTA BOLOGNESE

(adapted from a Yummy mag)

Yield: 2-3

Sauce:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small red onion, minced

half a medium carrot, minced or diced

1 225g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, & skins removed

salt & pepper

1/4 - 1/3 c dry red wine

1 400g can diced tomatoes + 1 1/2 tsp tomato sauce OR 1/2 can diced tomatoes + 2 1/2 tsp tomato sauce

1/4 c - 1/2 c water 

around 8 pieces of fresh basil leaves, cut into strips

1. Pulse chickpeas until ground meat-like texture.

2. In a pan, heat up oil and saute onions until transparent. 

3. Add in carrots and saute until slightly tender. 

4. Add in tomato paste and cook for a little while. Once done, add in chickpeas and let it heat through.

5. Add in red wine and let reduce.

6. Add in diced tomatoes and crush pieces with the back of a spoon or laddle. Add in water bit by bit, starting with 1/4 cup. Add more if needed.

7. Add in basil and let sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes on low-medium heat.