Italian Style Ragú With Penne Rigate Pasta From The Careless Cook

 

Italian Style Ragú With Penne Rigate Pasta From The Careless Cook

 

This is the best pasta dish I’ve ever made and one of the best I’ve ever tasted, including those in Rome.  Simple to make, nutritious and the clean up was very simple.  Matter of fact, I was able to sit and have another glass of wine while my wife cleaned the kitchen! 

 

Well, not the whole glass.  A broom spilled a lot of it down the front of my shirt.

 

Where did I get the idea for this ragú?  From a book by the actor, S. T., but that’s enough of a hint.  I’ll blog about the excellent, breezy, humorous, and delicious book soon.

 

As usual, The Careless Cook did not waste time following the recipe as written.  But, close.  Hey, every Italian mother has her own version, so why not me?

 

You may already know this, but for my three faithful readers who often have a loss of memory after …. Well, I can’t remember when, but often.

Anyway, here’s what the Italian cooks say about pasta:  Ogni salsa ha la sua pasta!  (O-knee salsa-la soo-a pasta!) Every sauce has its own pasta.

 

Ok, I made that up.  BUT, it’s true.  Certain pastas for certain sauces. Don’t mix and match….’cause with mixin’ there ain’t no matchin’!

 

In a dish like ragú, which has a rather thin sauce, you want pasta with ridges to catch all the flavors.

Italian Style Ragú With Penne Rigate Pasta

(feel free to use any other ridged pasta, such as Rigatoni)

Oven to 250ºF

 

Ingredients

 

A slosh of olive oil (Several times, as needed.)

1 onion diced

1 large carrot diced (I used colorful carrots and left some cut in rounds)

1 large stalk celery diced

4 oz diced pancetta (usually comes in a packet) 

¾ lbs lean hamburger meat

6 oz pork, finely diced, or use ground pork

¾ cup dry red wine

2 cups chicken broth (I used Tuscan style)

2 tablespoons tomato paste (I used tomato paste from a tube)

handful of fresh basil

handful of fresh oregano

(No herb garden?  Use dried herbs to taste.)

 

16 oz package Penne Rigate pasta

NOTE: No garlic on the list.  Quite often, Italian cooks do not put both onion and garlic in the same dish, although in the U.S. we commonly do.

 

Putin’ It Together

 

Use a large frying pan with a lid. This makes a meal for four to six folks.

 

Put a slosh of olive oil in the frying pan and add the onion and pancetta. Cook until onions are limp and pancetta is slightly browned.

 

Add the other two meats and stir occasionally until cooked.

 

Add the other vegetables and stir.

 

Add the wine, chicken stock, tomato paste and herbs. Bring to a simmer.

 

Cover the pan and place in the oven for an hour and a half.

 

Meanwhile, make the pasta in a large pot, according to package directions.  My directions called for 12-14 minutes.  I like my pasta a little past al dente, so I went the full 14 minutes.

 

Set aside two cups of pasta water and strain the pasta.  Why save the pasta water?  When you mix in the sauce, the pasta will soak up much of the thin sauce and you may want to add it to any pasta left over.

 

Toss in another slosh of olive oil and stir.  

 

Add the sauce to the pot of pasta and mix well.

 

In serving, add a couple of basil leaves for garnish.

 

And, don’t forget to fill all the glasses of red wine! Hey, this is an Italian meal!

 

You’ll note there is no mention of cheese, grated or not.  The Careless Cook sez: This here dish is too damn delicious to mess it up with cheese!

A word or two about my blog: Some folks have had a tough time trying to subscribe.  On the right side of the blog page, about halfway up, you will see “Followers and a group of photos.”  Click on “follow” below the photos. That should do the trick.

 

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