Mushroom Bolognese Stuffed Garlic Bread


 

 

 

This mushroom bolognese stuffed garlic bread is a fantastic way to use up leftovers, and the perfect quick, weekday meal. You can skip the meat for a day, and your kids will never know the difference. 

 

 

 

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When writing this post for mushroom bolognese stuffed garlic bread, I was a little stumped about what to call it.

Yes, there’s garlic bread that is definitely stuffed with delicious veggie mushroom bolognese. However, I did spend a while wondering which order I should list the components.

 

Bolognese or Bolognaise?

Then there’s the fact about the name bolognese. In the UK, we spell it bolognaise, so I got a little confused wondering which was the correct spelling, and during my research to check, realised there’s quite the who-ha about whether it even deserves to take Bologna’s name, at all.

And no, as per usual, it’s not authentic bolognese sauce, either. I just threw in what I fancied (just like I always do). 

 

 

So, this recipe came about after I had a loaf of bread that was too stale to eat in a sandwich, but not stale enough to grind up into breadcrumbs. So, I thought: why not bake it to freshen it up a little? The thoughts tumbled along (as they invariably do with me), until I’d decided on making a mushroom bolognese to stuff into it.

The end result was spectacular. Even if I do say so myself. My 18 year old (who in fairness, eats everything I put in front of him) thought it had the wow factor. I have to agree.

 

Can I use meat sauce instead?

Yes, of course. This mushroom bolognese stuffed garlic bread doesn’t need to be vegetarian: you could stuff it with whatever tomato-based sauce you like. I made mine veggie because I don’t eat meat and often adapt my old recipes to be meatless. Like this mushroom stroganoff.

Although my blog is predominantly about spelt flour, I didn’t use a spelt loaf. We can’t actually buy them in the shops here in Sweden (not at the fresh bread counter, anyway).

 

 

I did think about making my own, but I wanted a really hefty, thick crusty bread to make sure all the sauce and cheese stayed put. You can use any bread you like, but it needs to be a fairly large loaf. I used something called a vetelimpa (directly translated it literally means wheat loaf) which is a fairly dark loaf, from my local Lidl. It did the job perfectly. 

Although I whipped up a batch of mushroom bolognese just for this recipe, it would be a fantastic way to use up leftovers. And there’s very little not to like about a combo of bread, garlic, butter, cheese and a flavoursome tomato sauce, now is there?

 

Mushroom Bolognese Stuffed Garlic Bread

Ingredients

Mushroom bolognese:

  • 1 tbs butter
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 small red chillies
  • 2 tsp minced garlic (or two cloves crushed)
  • 120g (4¼ oz) mushrooms (minced or finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • pepper and salt (to taste)
  • 500g (17½ oz) tinned chopped tomatoes (or passata)
  • 1 fresh tomato (chopped)
  • 100ml (½ cup) water

Assembly:

  • 1 large loaf of bread
  • grated cheese of choice
  • grated mozzarella
  • 2 tsp minced garlic (or two cloves crushed)
  • 15g (1 tbs) butter (you could use more if you like)

Instructions

Mushroom bolognese:

  • Heat the butter and oil together until the butter has melted.
  • Fry the onion and carrot together until softened.
  • Add the chillies and garlic, and cook for a further minute or two.
  • Throw in the mushrooms, paprika, oregano and seasoning, and cook just until the mushrooms have softened.
  • Add the tinned tomatoes, fresh tomato and water and cook for around 45 minutes, until the sauce has thickened nicely.
  • Put to one side and allow to cool before using it.

Assembly:

  • Pre-heat your oven to 200℃ (390℉). Line a large oven tray with baking paper.
  • Cut the top off a large loaf of bread (see what I've written in the main post) and carve out the bread (save it to make breadcrumbs), to create a deep trench. Make sure you leave about 2cm (¾ inch) in the bottom.
  • Melt the butter and add the garlic. Brush over the insides of the loaf.
  • Add as much cheese as you like to fill the bottom (I didn't measure it, but went by how much it took to fill the hole).
  • Spoon over your cooled mushroom bolognese, just until it reaches the top of the hole (I had the perfect amount of sauce).
  • Sprinkle over as much mozzarella as you like (again, I didn't measure it, and just eyeballed it).
  • Bake just until the cheese is bubbling and brown (around 10-15 minutes). Slice and enjoy with a tasty salad!

Notes

 
I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements.

 




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