Roast Chicken Bacon Cauliflower Bolognese

This roast chicken, bacon and cauliflower Bolognese is rich and flavorful, putting your leftover roast chicken to the best use, a whole new delicious meal!

I must confess, and I don’t think I’m alone here, but I am generally incapable of going to Costco and not buying one of their roasted chickens. They are so much bigger and cheaper than grocery store chickens so I know that there will always be leftovers to make another dish. Often more than one! 

Our favorite is chicken salad with hardboiled eggs but it is followed on closely by any sauce to serve over pasta, sometimes creamy and/or cheesy, sometimes tomato based. And, then, of course, I must simmer the bones for stock/soup.

Honestly, priced at $4.99 since 2009, there is no bigger bargain that can be stretched to make a few meals than a Costco roast chicken.

Note to my friend Wendy and others who are vegetarian or have vegetarian family friends and family they cook for: Skip the bacon and set aside some sauce before you add the chicken and everyone can eat together! 

Roast Chicken Bacon Cauliflower Bolognese

If you have a little more or a little less chicken, if your cauliflower is a bit smaller or larger, it’s all good. This sauce is very forgiving on amounts and will still taste wonderful. P.S. Just to be clear, I am NOT being paid to talk up Costco. I just love that store, its staff members and their inclusive ideology.

Ingredients

10 1/2 oz or 300g leftover chicken (weight without bones or skin)

1/2 head cauliflower (about 1 lb or 450g)

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1/2 cup or 60g cooked real bacon crumbles

1/2 cup or 120ml red wine

2 cans (14.5oz or 411g) crushed or petite diced tomatoes (no salt added)

1 can (6 oz or 170g) tomato paste

2 teaspoon Italian seasonings

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 bay leaf

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

To serve:

1 lb or 450g of your favorite pasta, cooked al dente to package instructions. 

Grated Parmesan

Chopped parsley

Method

Pull the chicken apart into pieces. I like to make most of them a bit bigger than bite-sized because then they don’t completely shred while cooking. Set side. 

Blitz the cauliflower, including stalks, in your food processor. You may have to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your processor. We are looking for fluffy pieces like cauliflower rice, not puree. 

Chop and peel your onion. Finely chop it or since the food processor is already out, go ahead and chop the onion in it. No need to wash it between uses.

Smash the garlic on a cutting board with a knife. Give the garlic a couple of casual chops as well. 

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, fry the bacon crumbles over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. 

Add in the onion, garlic and cauliflower. Sauté until the vegetables have softened. I find this goes faster with a lid on but make sure to remove it and stir often. 

There’s a lot of moisture in the cauliflower and onion but it can still catch if your lid isn’t really tight fitting. Add a little water if you need to stop it from scorching. 

Add in the red wine and cook for a few minutes. 

Add in both cans of tomatoes along with one can filled with water. Stir.

Add in the can of tomato paste and the Italian seasonings. Stir until the paste has dissolved. 

Add in the bay leaf and the baking soda. Stir well them simmer over a low heat, covered, for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you have more time, a longer simmer won’t hurt.

Add in the leftover roast chicken and simmer, covered, for a further 20 minutes. 

Taste for salt and add some if necessary. We are watching our salt, so I rarely add any in a meaty Bolognese. Even the “no salt added” tomatoes have natural sodium (adding 140mg to the sauce) and, of course, the regular tomato paste adds about 100mg. In this case, the cauliflower is pretty bland so I think it needs some salt. But you do you. 

Give the whole pot a good few grinds of black pepper and stir. 

Serve over your favorite cooked pasta with Parmesan and a sprinkle of parsley, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing one pot recipes. Many thanks to our host, Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures| Check out the links below.

• Bean and Kielbasa Stew by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Korean Style Beef Short Ribs with Bok Choy by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pečena Piletine Sa Rižom (Baked Chicken & Rice) by Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Roast Chicken Bacon and Cauliflower Bolognese by Food Lust People Love
• Sama Pulao by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Sukhi Roti Ki Khichdi by Sneha's Recipe

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Hearty Lentil Tomato Sauce (for pasta)

If you are looking for a flavorful, rich vegetarian alternative to traditional Bolognese sauce made with ground beef, here you go! My hearty lentil tomato sauce is absolutely delicious, healthy and filling. Perfect for a cold winter’s night when comfort food is required.

Years ago both of our girls were vegetarian, and even now, the younger one eats mostly vegetarian when she’s not at home. During that time, I started exploring vegetarian recipes and figuring out how to recreate some of our family favorites without meat. Taste was of the utmost importance but I also wanted to add protein, to make up for the lack of meat.

Lentils are one of the best pulses or legumes for this. They don’t require soaking. They cook up quickly and are great at taking on whatever flavors are added to them. Their only downside, especially if you use the green Puy lentils, is the color. If you can overlook that, lentils are a vegetarian’s best friend.

Tip: This hearty lentil tomato sauce freezes beautifully so it’s worth doubling the recipe and freezing half in a sealed freezer bag for another family meal.

Hearty Lentil Tomato Sauce

Whether you just do “meatless Monday” or eat vegetarian all the time, you will want to add hearty lentil tomato sauce to your family meal plan. This will easily feed four hungry people when served on top of pasta.

Ingredients
1 cup or 200g dried Puy lentils
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 ripe large tomatoes (about 1 lb or 450g)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Sea salt and black pepper - to taste
handful basil and parsley chopped plus extra to garnish
1 tomato, deseeded and chopped
2 handfuls sliced black olives, optional - we love 'em but I know some people don't.    Use more, less or none, according to your taste

To serve: your favorite pasta, cooked to package instructions

Method
Rinse the lentils, picking through them to make sure there aren’t any little rocks, and set aside to drain.

Sauté the chopped onions and garlic in the olive oil till softened. Add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf and baking soda. Stir well.

Cook over a medium heat for just a few minutes, then add in the rinsed lentils, plus 2 cups or 480ml water along with the smoked paprika and crushed red pepper flakes.

Bring the pot to a gentle boil then turn the fire down to simmer. Cook, covered for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water, if necessary.

When the lentils are cooked, stir in the chopped basil and parsley and a handful of the sliced black olives, if using. Also, add half of the extra chopped tomato. I took the photo before the tomato half went in, but don't forget to add it. A little uncooked tomato brightens up the flavor.

Garnish with the other half of the tomato, more herbs and more black olive slices, if desired. Serve over your favorite cooked pasta.

Enjoy!

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