Cooking: Pasta Sauce

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by SField

I think most people would be shocked by a visit to Spiaggia or Babbo...

First time at Spiaggia was a real eye opener, a la "Whoa this is Italian????"

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by why

Soaked breadcrumbs?
No, just soaked bread. I'll post a recipe I got from a friend in Naples for meatloaf if anybody is interested.

Also, I cannot recommend highly enough trying pasta with cherry tomatoes in the summer. We grow tomatoes at our house specially for it.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by iammatt

No, just soaked bread. I'll post a recipe I got from a friend in Naples for meatloaf if anybody is interested.
Definitely. It's not uncommon at all to use a panade with forcemeats. It can really help to make the meat smooth and light.

 

[AR_Six]

This thread rules. Good job self.

So pretty much everybody goes with the tomato sauce then?

 

[SField]

I just made a chili that is honestly out of this world. I'm not even talking to my girlfriend because I can't stop eating it and watching Peep Show.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by JD_May

This thread rules. Good job self. So pretty much everybody goes with the tomato sauce then?
No. When I eat pasta I prefer pasta and chickpeas, puttanesca or carbonara, but tomato sauce can be good too.

 

[Despos]

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

It is very difficult to beat Newman's Own. It is the "House" sauce around here.

Try Raos

 

[SField]

Originally Posted by iammatt

No. When I eat pasta I prefer pasta and chickpeas, puttanesca or carbonara, but tomato sauce can be good too.

I hope you're talking about real carbonara, not fat ass cheesecake factory american bastard carbonara...

 

[AR_Six]

^Give me a recipe for real carbonara. I must try this.

PS I have some gorgonzola, good parmesan, some prosciutto and linguine, think I will try to do something with that tomorrow.

 

[Despos]

Originally Posted by iammatt

No. When I eat pasta I prefer pasta and chickpeas, puttanesca or carbonara, but tomato sauce can be good too.

Lately I make pasta with just reduced broth and maybe mushrooms or a veggie.

Made a lamb ragout last week and ate it a few times with a couple different pastas.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by SField

I hope you're talking about real carbonara, not fat ass cheesecake factory american bastard carbonara...
Please. I've never been to a Cheesecake Factory.

Originally Posted by JD_May

^Give me a recipe for real carbonara. I must try this. PS I have some gorgonzola, good parmesan, some prosciutto and linguine, think I will try to do something with that tomorrow.
Mix together two large eggs and a quarter to half a cup of pecorino Romano in a mixing bowl. Dice about a quarter pound of pancetta, and cook it slowly until it just browns in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil with a minced clove of garlic, and a pinch of hot pepper flakes, if you like. Meanwhile, cook a pound of spaghetti in boiling, salted water. Drain the spaghetti, don't rinse it (never rinse it) and put in a large serving bowl. Immediately pour over the hot pancetta and oil, mix well. Then pour over the egg mixture and mix. The hot pasta and oil will cook it. Grind on a bunch of black pepper and serve.

 

[CDFS]

Originally Posted by Douglas

Nothing compares to a properly executed bolognese, the longer the simmer the better. problem is it takes all damned day.

Not to start a recipe war here, but how would you make bolognese, if not with (a lot of) ground beef?

 

[why]

Originally Posted by iammatt

No, just soaked bread. I'll post a recipe I got from a friend in Naples for meatloaf if anybody is interested.

I've never seen extra moisture added to the crushed bread. Always seemed superfluous considering the point of it was to soak up the meat liquids.

 

[ManofKent]

I rarely go for the tomato sauces-

Roughly chopped fresh spinach, toasted pine nuts, a little fresh garlic, a good olive oil and pasta is perfection.

At the moment with a glut of runner beans, I'm gutting them into ribbons, lightly cooking them and mixing with a little garlic and butter with pasta.

 

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by CDFS

Not to start a recipe war here, but how would you make bolognese, if not with (a lot of) ground beef?

I never said not to use ground beef. I think some people were saying that someone's recipe used too much of it and compared it to chili, but I wasn't that guy.

I make Bolognese with a ton of meat - but I use pork and beef combined. Usually almost a 1:1 ratio, though I gather that's probably not quite traditional.

Sweat finely chopped carrots, onion, celery in veg oil and butter til soft and translucent. Add ground meat (high fat content) and brown. When it has browned and crumbled, add whole milk to just cover, and a few gratings of nutmeg. Let the milk simmer slowly til it is all gone, simmered away and absorbed into the meat. Then add a few cups of dry white wine and do the same thing again, letting it simmer away. Lastly, add canned tomatoes (not as much as you might think - this is a meat sauce, not a tomato sauce) and let the whole sauce just barely simmer for hours. Hours. Hours. At least three. The flavors really meld, develop, and change over that time. If you don't believe me, taste every hour.

Toss with some freshly grated Parmesan and a chunkier pasta - I like rigatoni because it holds the sauce well, though a traditionalist would probably use tagliatelle.

That's how I make it, anyways. And everyone loves it.