Sunday Dinners...Tagliatelle With Ragu Bolognese II

When my brother and his family came down for the Labor Day weekend, I was surprised that he requested a Ragu Bolognese for Sunday dinner.  I was all ready for beans and ribs or something else on the grill, but no, this is what he wanted.  I had my Marcella Hazan cookbook on hand and decided to make her sauce, rather than the one I usually make which is posted on Lindaraxa's Garden.  After the accolades I received, I may just have to switch recipes.

In order to be successful with this reipe, you must follow the guidelines below and it is essential that the sauce simmer very lightly for at least 3 hours.  By very lightly I mean, a bubble here a bubble there, usually on simmer or below.  Otherwise the sauce will be too dry at the end. 

Marcella Hazan
Bolognese Meat Sauce

Printable Recipe

Yield 2 heaping cups, for about 6 servings and 1 1/2 pounds pasta

Time At least 4 hours


Summary

-The meat should not be from too lean a cut; the more marbled it is, the sweeter the ragu will be. The most desirable cut of beef is the neck portion of the chuck.

-Add salt immediately when sauteeing the meat to extract its juices for the subsequent benefit of the sauce.

-Cook the meat in milk before adding wine and tomatoes to protect from the acidic bite of the latter.

-Do not use demiglace or other concentrates that tip the balance of flavors toward harshness

-Use a pot that retains heat. Earthenware is preferred in Bologna and by most cooks in Emilia Romagna, but enameled cast-iron pans or a pot whose heavy bottom is composed of layers of steel alloys are fully satisfactory.

-Cook, uncovered, at the merest simmer for a long, long time; no less than three hours is necessary, more is better.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

3 tablespoons butter plus 1 tablespoon for tossing the pasta

1/2 cup chopped onion

2/3 cup chopped celery

2/3 cup chopped carrot

3/4 pound ground beef chuck (or you can use 1 part pork to 2 parts beef)

Salt

Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1 cup whole milk

Whole nutmeg

1 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds pasta,  preferably tagliattele

Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese at the table


Method

1. Put the oil, butter and chopped onion in the pot and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it has become translucent, then add the chopped celery and carrot. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring vegetables to coat them well.

2. Add ground beef, a large pinch of salt and a few grindings of pepper. Crumble the meat with a fork, stir well and cook until the beef has lost its raw, red color.

3. Add milk and let it simmer gently, stirring frequently, until it has bubbled away completely. (this will take awhile) Add a tiny grating -- about 1/8 teaspoon -- of nutmeg, and stir.

4. Add the wine, let it simmer until it has evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stir thoroughly to coat all ingredients well. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface. Cook, uncovered, for 3 hours or more, stirring from time to time. While the sauce is cooking, you are likely to find that it begins to dry out and the fat separates from the meat. To keep it from sticking, add 1/2 cup of water whenever necessary. At the end, however, no water at all must be left and the fat must separate from the sauce. Taste and correct for salt.

5. Toss with cooked drained pasta, adding the tablespoon of butter, and serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the side.

Cooks Note:  I doubled the recipe but kept the milk at one cup as well as the wine.  I also added the entire can of Cento San Marzano which i think is 28 ozs.

Source: "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" (Knopf)

Dinner Cruise Fare, Part I...Pasta Pesto And Shrimp

Ever since we got our boat, we have been going out every night for a dinner cruise.  The kitchen has been closed for almost a week and now all I can think about is portable meals.  With a bounty of home grown tomatoes and zucchini and plenty of herbs, planning these meals is a no brainer, except I am running out of ideas while the zucchinis are coming in fast and furious.  Last night I took a breather and decided to make pesto instead and at the last minute decided to add shrimp and some of the cherry tomatoes from our yard.

A baguette and some Camembert and cherries downed happily with a chilled dry rose from Provence finished the meal.

Make sure you pack a Westie for great fun and entertainment!... and stay tuned for Parts II & III, you don't want to miss the fun!


Pasta Pesto And Shrimp
Printable Recipe

1/2 lbs of linguini
1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
2 cloves garlic
2 TB olive oil
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

Pesto Sauce (follows)

Directions

Cook linguini as per package directions.  In the meantime sautee the shrimp in olive oil and garlic.  Add the shrimp to the linguini, mix in 1/2 cup of pesto sauce and add tomatoes.  That's it, less than 15 minutes!


Pesto

1 cup firmly packed basil leaves

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Put everything in blender and pulse until combined.

Nick And Toni's Penne alla Vecchia Bettola

Nick and Toni's is a well known restaurant in the Hamptons with a sister site on NYC's Upper West Side.  I saw this recipe today on the Barefoot Contessa and thought it would be a nice addition to the blog, especially for Friday night dinner.  It is pretty close to my Penne alla Vodka except this one spends some time in the oven.  

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup good olive oil

1/2 large Spanish onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/4 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoons dried oregano

3/4 cup vodka

1 (28-ounce) cans peeled plum tomatoes (use Cento San Marzano)

Kosher salt

3/4 pound penne pasta

1 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped

Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat, add the onions and garlic and cook for about 10 minutes until translucent. Add the red pepper flakes, dried oregano and vodka, and continue cooking until the mixture is reduced by half.

Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes through a sieve, crush them with your hands, and place them in a 5 quart ovenproof pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions to the tomatoes and cover with a tight lid. Place the pot in the oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pot from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Place the tomato mixture in a blender and puree in batches until the sauce is a smooth consistency, and return to the pot.

Reheat the tomato sauce and add the heavy cream, fresh oregano and salt, to taste, and simmer for 5 minutes. Toss the sauce with the pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, to taste. Serve

Pasta With Marinara Sauce

This is my go to meal when I haven't planned ahead and need something quick. It's all made from the staples I keep around in my pantry. What makes it special is the Marinara Sauce, which is quick, authentic and delicious...what you get in Italy and in only 20 minutes. The recipe is adapted from Lidia Bastianich, co-owner of three New York restaurants, several cookbooks and the celebrated PBS show, Lidia's Italy. I used to stay up until 1:00 a.m. to catch her show on PBS. Use what you need and freeze the rest for a million other things like Bruschetta, Eggplant Parmeggiana or another quick meal of pasta. It is also a good base for Penne alla Vodka. That's why I keep a bottle handy in the freezer! Use the best and freshest ingredients, after all that's what makes this simple sauce great.

This recipe was originally posted in my main recipe blog, Lindaraxa's Garden in March 2009. I use it in so many of my Italian recipes that I decided to post it again in this blog. Keep it handy, you will need it!

Marinara Sauce

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic peeled
1 box Pomi Crushed tomatoes(or one 35 oz San Marzano tomatoes seeded and lightly crushed, with their liquid
Salt
1/2 tsp. sugar
Crushed hot red pepper (go easy!unless you like it hot)
10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
Black Olives for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Whack the garlic with the flat side of a knife, add it to the oil, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

Carefully slide the tomatoes and their liquid into the oil. Bring to a boil and season lightly with the salt, sugar and red pepper. Lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer and cook, breaking the tomatoes with a whisk or a spoon (if you got the can of whole tomatoes) until the sauce is chunky and thick, about 20 minutes. Stir in the basil* about 5 minutes before the sauce is finished. Taste the sauce and season with salt and red pepper, if necessary. Set aside.

You can bring to a boil and cook the spaghetti while the sauce is cooking if you are pressed for time. I prefer to cook my sauce first and let it settle. It will get thick but I thin it with water from the spaghetti just before I pour it off the saucepan.

*Do use fresh basil and do not chop until right before you add it. Herbs release their best aroma when they are just cut and you want this released into the sauce, not the counter.

Spaghetti

Boil the spaghetti for about 10 minutes in a big pot with lots of water and a dash of salt. Don't skimp on the water! This prevents it from sticking in the pot. When the spaghetti is almost done and before you drain, take one or two laddlefulls of water and add it to marinara sauce to thin. If you want to eat it like a real Italian add the spaghetti to the sauce, not the other way around, and cook it in the saucepan for a couple of minutes. This and the water helps the sauce stick to the pasta. Add freshly grated Parmeggiano-Regianno and enjoy. I serve mine with a baguette and a tossed salad.

Wine suggestions: Peppoli from Antinori, if you can afford it, or Santa Cristina, the least expensive of the Antinori wines. Monte Anticho, found sometimes in the supermarket and fairly inexpensive, is also good. But stick with Italian wines, preferrably from Toscana-- remember terroir! P.S. You can find Peppoli sometimes at Costco, at great savings. It is one of my daughter's favorites.