Farfalle Bolognese

     So, I've started to develop a guilty fondness for Rachael Ray's recipes. My guilt stems from the fact that my hips are never going to get any smaller if I keep trying out various meals of hers. She can claim that her 'Yum-O' recipes are healthy all she likes, the reality is that anything utilizing a ton of oil, whole milk or cream, and a whack of cheese just isn't healthy. It tastes great, don't get me wrong, but is naughty comfort food at its best.
     It is in light of this fact that I looked at one of her lazy lasagnas and decided to tweak it, play with it, and make it a bit more reasonable for my family. To that end, I present the inaugural recipe of this blog:

 Farfalle Bolognese
Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 375 g box farfalle (bow tie) pasta
1 tsp margarine
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 lb lean ground beef
2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 large carrot, finely chopped 
1 1/2 tsp dry rosemary
1 generous dash ground cloves
1 5.5 oz can tomato paste
1 cup white wine
2 cups beef stock
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
1/4 cup margarine
1/4 cup flour
3 cups nonfat milk
nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup light Parmesan cheese

Directions:

     Preheat oven to 400 F
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente. Be sure to reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the margarine and extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and mushrooms; brown well. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, rosemary, cloves and salt and pepper and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste for 1 minute, then deglaze the pan with the white wine for 1 minute. Stir in the beef stock and reserved 1/2 cup pasta water; simmer for 15 minutes or so. My sauce looked like this at this stage:

In a saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, then the milk, and cook until thickened and bubbly; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Toss the pasta with the meat sauce and arrange in a casserole dish. This is what mine looked like. Excuse my crappy photography, as always:

Pour the bechamel sauce over the top in an even layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn on broiler for last 3-5 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn't burn.


 My final result ended up looking like this:

 I really need to work on my photography. Or get a better camera. In any case, there you have it, Farfalle Bolognese. Exceptionally easy, very tasty, and incredibly satisfying, especially when served with a nice tossed salad and garlic toast.

Adapted from Rachael Ray's Lazy Lasagna Bolognese

Nutritional Analysis:
Per serving

Calories		652.8
Total Fat		20.5 g
	Saturated Fat	5.7 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	3.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	8.9 g
Cholesterol		59.9 mg
Sodium		1,028.4 mg
Potassium		844.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		88.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	7.3 g
	Sugars	19.9 g
Protein		26.6 g