Veggie marsala
Hands up if you ever cook with alcohol?
I must admit, I do it very rarely. A splash of white wine in a mushroom risotto is not unheard of, but that’s usually about as far as I go – I very rarely use port, or brandy, or sherry, or any other kind of spirit. My main problem is that I never have that stuff in the house. I’m usually a wine or beer drinker, so having to buy a whole bottle of port just to add a glug to my gravy a couple of times a year isn’t too appealing.
But I have the solution!
Just A Splash offers small pouches of five different alcohols – sherry, marsala, port, rum, and brandy – which are specially blended for using in your cooking. No more half used bottles of random things taking up space in the kitchen! The pouches will encourage you to be more inventive with your cooking – you can try new things without having to commit to buying a full bottle (much cheaper).
Using alcohol in your cooking can actually be quite a sophisticated way to bring out the flavours of your other ingredients – in short, as the alcohol evaporates, it carries flavour from the other ingredients up to our noses, and since smell is such a big part of enjoying a meal, cooking with alcohol can really help to bring a dish to life! There’s more about the science of cooking with alcohol on the Just A Splash website, if you’re interested.
When Just A Splash asked if I’d like to try using their culinary alcohols in a recipe, I immediately knew I wanted to make this veggie marsala. I’ve always thought chicken marsala looked interesting (apart from the chicken, obviously), and have wanted to try a vegetarian version, but I haven’t wanted to buy a full bottle of marsala just for one recipe. I’m glad I’ve finally been able to give it a try! It is delicious!
If you’ve never tried marsala (a fortified wine), the flavour of this veggie marsala is a difficult one to describe – it’s slightly sweet, and super silky and luxurious. That’s really the only way I can describe it – you’ll just have to try it for yourself. The sauce is packed with vegetables, and it perfectly coats the tagliatelle for a creamy, comforting dinner. This is exactly my kind of food (pasta, veggies, booze! Can it get any better?). I packed my veggie marsala with vegetables – mushrooms, courgette (zucchini), tomatoes, shallots, aubergine (eggplant) – so you will never miss the meat.
I’m glad I was finally able to give this veggie marsala a try! Let me know if you have any ideas for how I should use the other pouches – I’m definitely thinking bananas flambéed in rum sounds like the way to go!
Veggie marsala
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 2 medium aubergines (eggplants)
- 2 tbsp oil, divided
- ~ 7 shallots or tiny onions, peeled and halved
- 1 tsp sugar
- 200 g (~ 2 cups) small mushrooms (I used small chestnut mushrooms), cut in half
- 1 courgette (zucchini), cut into chunks
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tbsp plain flour
- 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) marsala wine
- 250 ml (~ 1 cup) vegetable stock
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- ~ 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp creme fraiche (or double / heavy cream)
- Cooked tagliatelle, to serve
- Fresh parsley, to serve
Instructions
- Cut the aubergines (eggplants) into chunky dice (~ 2 inches in size). Lay the pieces out on a baking tray, and toss with 1 tbsp oil. Roast at 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F) for 25-30 minutes, until soft.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1tbsp oil in a large frying pan, and add the halved shallots. Cook over a medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, then add the sugar and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, until the shallots are fairly soft and just beginning to caramelise. Add the mushrooms, courgette (zucchini), and garlic, and cook over a medium heat for a further 5-10 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft. Add the cooked aubergine to the pan.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, and mix to coat. Add the marsala wine, and turn the heat up a little to bring the liquid to a boil, scraping any crispy bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow it to cook for a few minutes until halved in volume. Add the vegetable stock, mustard, and halved tomatoes, and simmer for a few more minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and add the creme fraiche. Mix well to give a glossy sauce. Serve with tagliatelle.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/4 of the recipe, not including pasta.
Oh that’s SUCH a clever idea! I always have the same issue of not wanting to keep random bottles of spirits in the house just for cooking, so this is genius. Definitely hunting these down!!!
So good aren’t they!!
I haven’t had a Marsala dish in a very long time…and when I looked at your ingredients, I love it that eggplant is one of them! Never thought of putting the two together, but…yum! Pinning this now…thanks for the recipe inspiration :)
Haha I put eggplant / aubergine in everything ;)
Love those little pouches! So perfect for cooking. Marsala is a favorite of mine. This looks perfect paired with all those vegetables.
oh I love this idea the dish look amazing with all those mushrooms yum!
OMG this is awesome! I actually don’t drink, but I use alcohol in my cooking regularly. I’m always on the search for small portions of it, but it’s hard to find. This is a lifesaver!
It’s such a good idea isn’t it!
Mmm this sauce looks delicious, I love cooking with marsala. Those little pouches are such a great idea, it can be so expensive when you have to buy a bottle of something when you just need a little bit for a sauce!
I know, I can’t believe nobody has thought of this before!
Oh wow, this looks so rich an creamy and I bet the mushrooms add so much flavour. I’m going to have to hunt out those pouches, they sound great!
We are loving using the Just a splash products in our cooking at the moment. Saves so much money not having to buy a whole bottle.
What a brilliant idea! I almost can’t believe no-one has thought of those pouches sooner.
Your veggie marsala looks awesome too – right up my street with that luscious sauce. Yum!
What a great idea. A splash of alcohol does add a certain something to a dish but I don’t always have the right bottle available, and it is too expensive to buy and open full bottles every time.