Better late than never! I had a tough time picking a recipe. I wanted to do something that didn't require a ton of specialty ingredients and didn't ask anyone to break the bank for what should be a fun cook.
In keeping with my late decision, I am going with a recipe that you just can't rush - Marcella Hazan's Pasta Bolognese from "Essentials of Italian Cooking".
I'd also wager we don't have a ton of New Jersey-based pitmembers, so I'll play into the stereotype a bit with some cuisine Tony's crew in The Sopranos would likely enjoy (I'm only a smidge Italian, whereas my wife is about 75% - my meatballs are better though).
This is one of my favorite recipes as it really highlights what you can do with simple ingredients done well - that is really the theme of the entire cookbook. There are so many recipes where I think this can't possible be that much better than the sum of its parts, but I am wowed by the result. The book can be found pretty cheap so I'd recommend it. There are a million recipes, many of which I will probably never try (see chicken liver sauce).
The recipe has lots of flexibility built into it in terms of how to serve it or whether to use all beef or beef/pork mix. I like rigatoni the best personally. My suggestion is to make extra so you can make Marcella's recipe for lasagna bolognese once it really gets cold.
All that said, I actually prefer the adaptation of the recipe by Chef John of Foodwishes, which can be found here with a video: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2013...hip-hazan.html . The recipe is essentially the same with a few adjustments to the amounts.
Ingredients for 6 portions:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 cup finely diced onions
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups white wine
1 can San Marzano plum tomatoes (28-oz), about 3 cups
2 cups water, or as needed
Pasta of choice (recipe is enough for about 1-1.5 lbs of pasta)
1. Saute the onions with butter and oil over medium heat until transcluent
2. Add carrots and celery and cook another 2 minutes
3. Add ground beef (or mix of ground beef pork, Marcella suggests 2:1 beef to pork ratio - never tried myself) and big pinch of salt
4. Break up the ground beef into fine crumbles
5. Add milk and let it simmer gently stirring constantly until nearly gone (see the video for tips here - don't burn it)
6. Add nutmeg - don't skip
7. Add wine, again simmer and stir until nearly gone
8. Add tomatoes, stir, bring to very low simmer and wait....for 3 hours at least, stirring occasionally
9. If the sauce starts to stick before its done, add a splash of water, but its done when there is no liquid left. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
10. Toss the sauce with your pasta of choice, lots of freshly grated parmesan and a bit more butter.
***Lets go with REVEAL DATE of 9/27***
In keeping with my late decision, I am going with a recipe that you just can't rush - Marcella Hazan's Pasta Bolognese from "Essentials of Italian Cooking".
I'd also wager we don't have a ton of New Jersey-based pitmembers, so I'll play into the stereotype a bit with some cuisine Tony's crew in The Sopranos would likely enjoy (I'm only a smidge Italian, whereas my wife is about 75% - my meatballs are better though).
This is one of my favorite recipes as it really highlights what you can do with simple ingredients done well - that is really the theme of the entire cookbook. There are so many recipes where I think this can't possible be that much better than the sum of its parts, but I am wowed by the result. The book can be found pretty cheap so I'd recommend it. There are a million recipes, many of which I will probably never try (see chicken liver sauce).
The recipe has lots of flexibility built into it in terms of how to serve it or whether to use all beef or beef/pork mix. I like rigatoni the best personally. My suggestion is to make extra so you can make Marcella's recipe for lasagna bolognese once it really gets cold.
All that said, I actually prefer the adaptation of the recipe by Chef John of Foodwishes, which can be found here with a video: https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2013...hip-hazan.html . The recipe is essentially the same with a few adjustments to the amounts.
Ingredients for 6 portions:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 cup finely diced onions
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper and cayenne to taste
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups white wine
1 can San Marzano plum tomatoes (28-oz), about 3 cups
2 cups water, or as needed
Pasta of choice (recipe is enough for about 1-1.5 lbs of pasta)
1. Saute the onions with butter and oil over medium heat until transcluent
2. Add carrots and celery and cook another 2 minutes
3. Add ground beef (or mix of ground beef pork, Marcella suggests 2:1 beef to pork ratio - never tried myself) and big pinch of salt
4. Break up the ground beef into fine crumbles
5. Add milk and let it simmer gently stirring constantly until nearly gone (see the video for tips here - don't burn it)
6. Add nutmeg - don't skip
7. Add wine, again simmer and stir until nearly gone
8. Add tomatoes, stir, bring to very low simmer and wait....for 3 hours at least, stirring occasionally
9. If the sauce starts to stick before its done, add a splash of water, but its done when there is no liquid left. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
10. Toss the sauce with your pasta of choice, lots of freshly grated parmesan and a bit more butter.
***Lets go with REVEAL DATE of 9/27***
Comment