Spaghetti Bolognese

20140221

Spaghetti bolognese recipe to try!

http://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/6638-spaghetti-bolognese-for-two

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

Authentic Bolognese sauce is slow-simmered for hours. The wait is worth it when you want to impress a table full of guests, but for our double serving size we wanted something quicker. We boosted the flavor fast by adding hearty pancetta, dried porcini mushrooms, and an anchovy to the sauce.… read more

SERVES 2

If you can’t find meatloaf mix, substitute equal parts of 85 percent lean ground beef and ground pork. Take the time to thoroughly rinse the dried porcini mushrooms to remove any grit. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

INGREDIENTS

1small onion, chopped course
1carrot, peeled and chopped course
1 1/2ounces pancetta, chopped course
1/4ounce dried porcini mushrooms, rinsed
1anchovy fillet, rinsed
1(14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1tablespoon unsalted butter
1tablespoon tomato paste
2garlic cloves, minced
1/2teaspoon sugar
1/8teaspoon red pepper flakes
6ounces meatloaf mix
3/4cup whole milk
1/4cup dry white wine
2cups water
6ounces spaghetti
2tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pulse onion, carrot, pancetta, mushrooms, and anchovy in food processor until finely ground, 10 to 15 pulses; transfer to bowl. Pulse tomatoes with their juice until coarsely ground, about 8 pulses.

2. Melt butter in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add processed onion mixture and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, garlic, sugar, and pepper flakes and cook until paste begins to darken, about 1 minute. Add meatloaf mix, breaking up meat into small pieces, and cook until just no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Stir in milk and bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until liquid is nearly evaporated, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in wine, bring to boil, and simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Add water, processed tomatoes, and pasta and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender and sauce is thickened, 15 to 18 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

PASTA COOKS IN SAUCE

To streamline the work and marry the flavors of the pasta and sauce, we developed a method for cooking the pasta right in the skillet with our rich, meaty sauce.

FAST ROUTE TO FLAVOR

Traditional Bolognese sauce simmers for hours in order to develop complex flavor. To get the same flavor quicker, we added high-impact ingredients that nonetheless blended into the background.Admittedly, it sounds weird, but chopped anchovies add unfishy depth to many a recipe. Here, just one fillet has big salty-savory impact. And dried mushrooms give the sauce a meaty, earthy backbone.

Spaghetti Bolognese for Two – Shopping List

Produce

• small onion

1
• carrot

1
• diced tomato

1 (14.5-ounce) can
• chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons

Meat

• pancetta

1 1/2 ounces
• meatloaf mix

6 ounces

Pantry/Dry Goods

• dried porcini mushroom

1/4 ounce
• tomato paste

1 tablespoon
• garlic clove

2
• sugar

1/2 teaspoon
• red pepper flakes

1/8 teaspoon
• water

2 cups
• spaghetti

6 ounces
• Salt and pepper

Seafood

• anchovy fillet

1

Dairy

• unsalted butter

1 tablespoon
• whole milk

3/4 cup

Alcohol

• dry white wine

1/4 cup

20130320 Update

It was a good idea to finish cooking off the pasta in the pasta sauce.

chicken marinara pasta with diced tomatoes and onions

use 8 ounces of pasta
start water boiling.
rough dice onions – sweat with EVOO and salt until soft
peel apart 3/4 lb rotissere chicken – don’t use skin and gristle
rough dice 4 cloves garlic, sweat with lots of EVOO until almost toasted
add chicken and 1-2 tblsp butter – turn heat on high and “sear.” season with a sprinkling of tony cachere’s.
add in 1/2 can of tomato paste with 1-2 cups of water and add onions, and a rough diced tomato.
simmer for 10 minutes while pasta cooks.
cook pasta in water – for al dente pasta, cook for shorter time in water and finish off in sauce.
when pasta is done, transfer to sauce mixture and “simmer” and stir for at least 2-3 minutes, or until pasta melds with sauce.

yields creamier pasta that is melded to the sauce. Simmering sauce is a plus for pasta sauce because it allows the flavors to meld together — a desirable thing for sauce, not necessarily a good thing for other foods.