Meatless Monday~ Butternut Arancini and Mushroom Thyme Farfalle

Happy Monday friends!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful beginning-of-Fall weekend. It's a busy time here at Casa Bramasole and the cooler evenings and mornings are very welcome

Thanks to all who have emailed/called/Facebooked/ and contacted us expressing concern for me and Allie.

I can't tell you how blessed I feel to have discovered the wonderful Land of Blog and all the wonderful people who we've met here.

As our regular readers know, we've been trying hard to incorporate Meatless Mondays into our lives as a way to promote good health (remember, I'm a certified personal trainer/nutritionist in a past life) and as an easy way to reduce our footprint n our beautiful planet

As an Italian mama, it's been ingrained in my DNA for centuries to NEVER waste food. As I was rummaging through our fridge this morning, I noticed some leftover butternut squash risotto from yesterday. Hmmm.....think, Pattie, think......

Every once in a while a blog post gets more than the usual number of comments. One of those blogs was one I wrote some months back about Arancini- Sicilian Rice Balls (click on link to go to that post)

So, since arancini is one of Allie's favorite dishes ever, I decided to make some using the leftover butternut risotto.

I will tell you- they were a success with the teens in the house (nobody else got any!) 

I used this recipe for the risotto yesterday. Today I mixed in some shredded Fontina and some chopped chives and formed the balls with an ice cream scoop- I didn't stuff the centers. These made a great side with a bowl of mushroom pasta

very creamy...

Mushroom Thyme Pasta in Broth

(Pasta Con Funghi in Brodo)

about 6 ounces EACH of fresh shitake and oyster mushrooms, cleaned (I had some crimini that needed to be used and threw those in too) Remove the stems from the mushrooms and slice the caps

1/4 cup olive oil, divided

kosher salt and pepper

3/4-1 pound short pasta (I used farfalle)

5 shallots, peeled and sliced crosswise

1/4 cup wine- I used a marsala

1 quart chicken broth, preferably homemade

1 TBLSP  thyme leaves, divided

a couple of dashes of Tabasco sauce- to taste

Fresh grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook till al dente.  Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet, heat 1/2 the olive oil till hot, then toss in the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. Saute and stir for about 3 minutes till they're soft. Remove from heat and set aside

In a heavy dutch oven, heat the rest of the oil and add the shallots. Saute and stir till cooked and starting to brown. Add the wine (careful- it spatters) and cook till almost evaporated. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, hot sauce to taste, and 2 tsp of the thyme- simmer for 1 minute. Add the drained pasta and stir to combine. Sprinkle each serving with a few thyme leaves to garnish. Serve with grated cheese

Tutti a Tavola!!

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As Always,

Buon Cibo, Buon Amici,

Pattie and Allie