Vegetarian Bolognese - Celebrating the Fifth Taste, UMAMI

The latest issue of Cooking Light did a feature on umami, the fifth sense beyond sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Four recipes were presented to showcase umami and the Vegetarian Bolognese was one of them. It turned out delicious, but as a meat eater, I would definately choose traditional bolognese sauce to this. It was a very good, healthier alternative, though. An interesting aspect to this recipe is that it calls for a 2-inch piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind to cook with the sauce. It is removed at the end of cooking and infuses a delicious salty-cheesy flavor. According to Cooking Light, it's the simmering cheese rind that gives the deep, savory umami taste.

Vegetarian Bolognese
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 (8 oz) pckg baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes with basil, undrained
1 (2-inch) piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind
12 oz uncooked spaghetti
1/2 cup shaved or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and mushrooms; saute 10 minutes. Add wine; simmer 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add 1/4 cup warm water and next four ingredients (through cheese rind). Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes. Keep warm. Remove and discard cheese rind.

Cook pasta. Serve with sauce and top with shaved or grated cheese.

The recipe above is actually my variation on the original in Cooking Light. The original recipe calls for two types of mushrooms - 1/4 cup dried porcini, finely ground in a coffee grinder, and 8 ounces of cremini mushrooms instead of baby bellas. The recipe also calls for whole wheat penne pasta, but I used what I had on hand which was spaghetti.