Abandoned Edibleszucchini, red pepper, white mushrooms, bellavitano cheese
*BONUS* leftover AEs: marinara sauce (additional ingredients: onion, garlic, butter, ground bison, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, vinegar, spices. etc.)
What I did: first of all, I must confess--I have discovered a new favorite cheese. Bellavitano is DELICIOUS, and I got the leftovers from the sample we put out at the Co-op the day prior. It's parmesean-esque in flavor, but not as hard--yet still deliciously crunchy at times: perfect to pair with marinara. I had an abundance of zucchini, so I decided to cut them into thin strips along with the red pepper and sauté them in a little bit of vinegar, olive oil, butter, and spices as a sort of 'pasta' base for the sauce. I crumbled the bison in a pan, cooked it, threw in some marinara (also added a pinch of sugar to offset the acid of the tomato base) and sauteed some onions and mushrooms on the side. I built the dish with the zucchini as the base, bison marinara on top, and added the mushrooms/onions with crumbled bellavitano cheese as a garnish.
The VerdictGOOD. This was really quite delicious. I probably should have made even MORE zucchini 'pasta', but I was hungry and in a rush. The vinegar was an important addition--I used just a tad--but I suspect it contributed to both the flavor and pasta-like 'texture' of the zucchini and peppers.
Taste: 8
Creativity: 8
Appearance: 7
Improvements for next time: there was a texture variation with the peppers and zucchini, and I think I could have sauteed the peppers a little longer. Also: more Bellavitano! This cheese is seriously DELICIOUS, I could have definitely used more.
