Barneys New York isn’t just a store, but a destination that embodies hospitality. When you’re shopping here you encounter the friendly associates who have a genuine interest in helping you to find products that will serve you and work with your lifestyle. Since my restaurant is an extension of Barneys New York, I know that my healthy food occupies the same role as the cutting edge fabrics and renowned labels’ designs found on the floors below.
A few years ago, my son wanted to lose weight and improve his health. First he decided to become vegetarian, and then finally went vegan. I was amazed not just by his weight loss, but also by the overall improvement his diet had on his body. With him in mind, I introduced my Vegan Bolognese to the menu at Fred’s and have since witnessed its effect on my customers. There’s the richness you expect in a Bolognese, but it doesn’t weigh you down and make you feel like you’ve over-indulged. I always say: you are what you eat, and with this recipe you can feel both nurtured and nourished.
Ingredients:
1 box dried spaghetti (no egg)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 large red onion
2 sweet red peppers
2 sweet yellow peppers
1 large bulb fennel
1 green zucchini
2 carrots
½ lb button mushrooms
1 small head cauliflower
1 hot red pepper (optional)
1 eggplant
1 cup red wine
48 oz canned Italian tomatoes
6 sprigs fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
1. Purée the canned tomatoes and set aside.
2. Mince the onions and garlic separate from the rest of the vegetables.
3. Mince the rest of the vegetables and set aside (you can use a food processor on the pulse setting).
4. In a large soup pot heat the extra virgin olive with the garlic and onions. Mix slowly until the onions are translucent.
5. Add the rest of the vegetables and sweat until they are wilted.
6. Add the red wine and cook together with vegetables for one minute.
7. Add the purée tomatoes and cooked on a simmer for 1 to 1½ hours until it has a rich and thick color. Let cool and will be better the next day
8. In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the pasta until al dente. Save 1 cup of pasta cooking water
9. Heat the sauce in a pot and once the pasta is cooked and strained, add to the sauce and mix and cook for an additional two minutes, making sure the pasta does not stick.
10. If sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water that was saved. If there is too much sauce, remove pasta and most of the sauce. Place on the serving dish. Take remaining sauce and continue to cook until thick and place on the top of the pasta.
-- Mark Strausman. After earning a degree in Hotel Management from the culinary program at New York City Technical College, chef Mark Strausman spent the next four years working and training in some of the best five-star hotels in Europe, including the Hessischer Hof and Kempinski Hotel Gravenbrauch, Frankfurt, the Montreaux Palace, Montreaux, and the Amstel Hotel, Amsterdam. Upon returning to New York in the mid 1980′s, Strausman worked at the Stanhope and Jacqueline’s, soon opening Sapore di Mare in East Hampton in 1988, Coco Pazzo in Manhattan in 1990, Campagna in 1994, and in between was selected Best American Chef by Tenimenti di Barolo e Fontanafredda in Alba, Italy, received the Grand Prize in the Prosciutto di Parma Chef Recipe Contest in 1992 and founded Mark Strausman’s Entertainment Catering in 1993. In 1996, the chef was chosen to run Fred’s, Barneys New York’s Restaurant in its flagship store at 660 Madison in Manhattan, and has since opened a location in the Chicago store and is currently developing another for the Barneys New York in Beverly Hills.