For those days that you find your freezer devoid of meatball kits, or you don’t have the time to make meatballs. A loose meat sauce over rigatoni, ziti, medium shells, or farfalle can be just as satisfying.
Ingredients:1 pound ground beef
About four cloves of minced garlic
About three four-inch sprigs of parsley (minced)
Basil
Oregano
Optional (onion or garlic powder to boost flavor)
Salt and pepper to taste
12 ounce can of tomato paste
6 ounce can of tomato paste
12 ounces red wine
15 ounce can of petite diced/crushed tomatoes
1 beaten egg plus some fresh ground pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese (If you are using commercially grated cheese, use sparingly, for it is much denser than what you might grate yourself with handheld cheese grater. Freshly grated cheese is quite fluffy. The right amount of freshly grated cheese is at your discretion, but I like fluffy pile that might scantly fill a quarter cup. One for the sauce and another for the egg wash around the pasta.
About half a one-pound box of rigatoni, ziti, shells or farfalle cooked according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Optional: a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella, or other mild cheese.
Instructions:Start by cooking a pound of ground beef in a large Dutch oven. This is one of those rare times that you don’t even have to defrost a hunk of frozen ground beef. Ideally, you can thaw the ground beef in the microwave, but if you find yourself without a microwave, proceed nonetheless. Add a half cup of water to the frozen ground beef in the lidded Dutch Oven. You will soon hear the water heating, steaming, and sizzling the outer layers of the frozen meat. Use a wooden spoon to pull off the thawed and cooked bits, turning the meat to make all sides available.
Once all your ground beef is completely browned, turn off the heat and line a bowl or pot with a double layer of paper towels. Not while the meat is scalding hot, but before the meat completely cools, spoon the meat into the double layer of paper towels and capture the grease in the paper towels. Use a paper towel held in a pair of tongs to wipe the inside of your Dutch oven. Discard the paper towels as you return the meat to the Dutch Oven. Turn on low heat and
Add:
3 Tablespoons of minced garlic
2 Tablespoons of minced parsley
2 Minced green onions
12 ounce can of tomato paste
6 ounce can of tomato paste
Use a narrow rubber spatula of get as much of the paste out of the can as you can. Pour half the 12 ounces of red wine into the empty 12 ounce can and swirl. Slowly add this to the mixture in the Dutch oven. Repeat with the second half of the wine. Add the 15 ounce can of crushed or petite diced tomatoes.
Add the basil, oregano, and pepper to taste. Add the scant ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (half this measure if using commercially grated cheese.) Allow to cook while you prepare pasta according to the package instructions. Taste the sauce. If not zesty to your liking, add ¼ t onion and/or garlic powder, and then think of adding a bit of salt. The Parmesan has salt in it, so you may not need salt at all.
Drain the pasta and allow to cool while you whisk the egg and another scant ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Grind some fresh pepper into the egg mixture. In a large mixing bowl, pour the egg mixture over the pasta and stir to coat, then add the meat sauce. Spray an appropriately sized casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, then turn the whole mixture into the dish, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, if desired, and bake in at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until the sauce covered pasta at the top becomes a bit crispy.
Serve beside a green salad or steamed green vegetable of your choice.
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to one week, and it can be reheated in the microwave. Leftovers packed as single servings in microwavable containers make tasty lunches at the office.
