culinary exploration

Roasted plum tomatoes for vodka sauce for dinner.

I’m a pasta addict, there is no doubt about that.  I love to experiment with such a blank canvas like pasta - especially since it comes in so many different shapes and forms.  Egg, semolina, long, short, ribbed, tubed… just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  The best part about pasta?  The plethora of sauces to pair with it!  I personally prefer tomato-based over cream - although I’ve been known to add a splash of cream to my tomato sauces.  :)

In my opinion, silky pasta paired with a hearty meat sauce is heaven in a bowl.  I’ve been wanting to perfect my own version of two different sauces: bolognese with a variety of ground meats like veal and pork AND a big hunk of pork shoulder simmering in a tomatoey ragu until the moist, tender meat falls apart in the sauce.  My approach to attempting my own version of these meaty sauces is to replicate some recipes from chefs I respect and admire in order to decide what I can add or change to make it my own.  If I get the basics of each sauce down, I can start to improvise with flavors and ingredients to create my own secret recipe. 

For the bolognese, I started with this delicious recipe from Mario Batali that I found on Food Network’s website.  Thankfully it makes a TON of sauce so I have a jar of it sitting in my freezer waiting for a rainy day!  The only negative thing I could say about this rich, meaty, velvety sauce is that it’s a bit greasy in the end.  I think that the total amount of olive oil and butter is too much since the meat renders quite a bit of fat.  All you need that oil and butter for is to sautee the veg and lightly coat the meat so it doesn’t stick.  Next time I would dial back to 3 T of olive oil and 2 T of butter.  I believe that would be PLENTY. 

All I have to say is - LOOK AT THAT MEAT!

RAGU BOLOGNESE

INGREDIENTS
5 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 T. butter
1 carrot, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound veal, ground
1 pound pork, ground (I had to use ground Italian sausage, no pork that day)
1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground
1/2 tube tomato paste (I used one small can)
1 cup milk
1 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating

DIRECTIONS
In a 6 to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.  Add the onions, celery, and garlic and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the veal, pork, and pancetta and stir into the vegetables. 

Add the meat over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned.  Add the tomato paste, milk, and wine and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.

When ready to use, the cooked pasta should be added to a saucepan with the appropriate amount of sauce and tossed so that the pasta is evenly coated.