I was browsing through the cookbook that started to take shape with more recipes coming in and I realized that so far there isn't a single pasta dish so far and this is both weird and unacceptable for children-friendly cookbook, so I'm going to fix this now. Today it's orecchiette pasta with meat ragu, in the Eataly book from Phaidon they use reginette, but I went for orecchiette since it's more child-friendly (less mess around) and it should be just as good - pasta structure allows for ragu get all over the place.
I was browsing through the cookbook that started to take shape, when I noticed that there isn't a single pasta dish yet. For a kid-friendly cookbook, that’s just unacceptable.
So, we’re fixing it today. Enter the Wu-Tang orecchiette pasta with meat ragu.
In the Eataly book from Phaidon, they use reginette, but I opted for orecchiette - it’s more child-friendly (less sauce splatter everywhere) and should fit just as nicely. The shape is good for catching all that sauce in every bite.
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients:
30g butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped
40g onion, chopped
300g ground meat (ideally a mixture of beef and pork)
1/2 glass red wine
100g pureed canned tomatoes (passata)
1 tbsp tomato paste
350g of orecchiette pasta (or pasta of your choosing, italians don't have to know)
salt and pepper
1 bay leaf
grated Parmesan for serving
a few thyme leaves (optional)
Steps:
Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet, add the vegetables, and fry over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the meat and cook for 5 minutes, or until it starts to brown, then pour over the wine and cook over high heat for 5 minutes more, or until the wine has evaporated.
Add the pureed canned tomatoes, tomato puree, 150ml water, and the bay leaf, then season with salt and cook over low heat for 25 minutes. Keep warm.
Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water according to the package directions until al dente, then drain well.
Transfer the drained pasta to the skillet with the ragu and gently mix together, adding a drizzle of oil and a sprinkling of pepper.
Serve garnished with Parmesan and a few thyme leaves, if liked.