One Dish Meals Rock
I had friends for dinner again Saturday night, and wanted to do something simple. Simple for me translates to one-dish meals (or at least one dish main courses). So, Saturday night we had a big, green salad, Mario Batali’s Ragu Bolognese (with a couple of slight alterations), and a dessert I made up and don’t know what to call it yet. I filled Pepperidge Farm Pastry Shells with Almond Pastry Cream. Then I made a Strawberry Sauce. I sauced the plate, and topped the cream filled shells with fresh strawberries drizzled with more sauce. They were really good.
Here’s Mario Batali’s recipe for Ragu Bolognese:
Mario Batali’s Ragu Bolognese
¼ cup e-v olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground veal
1 lb. ground pork
4 oz. pancetta or slab bacon, finely chopped
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 cup whole milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt & pepper
In a 5 to 8 quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the aromatics and cook until translucent but not browned. Add the veal, pork, and pancetta, increase heat to high and brown stirring frequently. Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, and thyme and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Season with salt and pepper. (Ragu can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to one month.
Toss the ragu with green tagliatelle and serve with Parmesan Reggiano.
The things I did differently, were 1) I let it simmer for more like 2 1/2 hours, and 2) about an hour before serving I added about 1/4 cup of cream. It was a real hit!
Enjoy!
