This isn't Your Grandma's Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
Aight, fall is here. Time to get serious about food. Fall is my favorite season by far because Halloween and Thanksgiving are the most fun holidays and no other season revolves around eating hearty (read: fatty) delicious foods and snuggling up to watch ungodly amounts of television cuz, 'tis the season. I also think California's landscape is most beautiful this time of year, which gives you a great incentive to hike off all that hearty (read:fatty) food. Not that I actually hike that much, I just think it is a nice idea and I aspire to do so when I self actualize.
I am about to unleash one of my favorite pasta recipes on y'all. It took many trials to get it just the way my picky self likes it, but you should definitely trust me because I lived in Italy for two years and each time I gained like 30+ pounds, so you know I was taking research and development very seriously. The recipe is fairly easy and quick to make, and doesn't call for any crazy ingredients. Enjoy!
Sadie's Netflix n' Chill Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
full disclosure, I scammed this pic from bon appetit...but I swear this pasta looks identical, if not more fabulous.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 oz. thinly sliced guanciale, pancetta, or chopped unsmoked bacon
- 1/2-3/4 onion cut into cubes
- 1/2 c dry white wine (I use a $3 Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe's)
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2-3/4 lb ground beef
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1 24.5-oz. glass bottle of pureed tomato (passata pomodoro)
- 12 oz. dried bucatini or spaghetti
- Pecorino cheese grated, shaved, whatever
Notes: The only thing I am going to be an absolute stickler on is that you use pureed tomato from a glass bottle. I use Mutti Passata I get from Berkeley Bowl, I'm pretty sure you can find it in fancier health food stores like Whole Foods too. Tomatoes from the can always taste metallic to me, and ain't nobody got time to boil down fresh tomatoes. Tomatoes from a glass bottles make all the difference, trust.
Preparation
Heat oil in a pot or frying pan with high sides (I've also done it in a wok when all the other dishes were dirty and I just couldn't, so you do you). Add onion and let simmer for 2-3 minutes, mixing often. Once onion starts to smell fragrant add pancetta, red pepper flakes and black pepper and continue to mix until onion is translucent. At this point add the ground beef and mix/chop it all around so it gets dispersed throughout the contents of the pot and is small and crumbly. Add the white wine and continue to stir ingredients around until the wine is absorbed. Add the cup of milk and nutmeg and let simmer gently until the milk is mostly absorbed. Finally, add the pureed tomato and when the sauce begins to bubble, turn down the heat to med/low and stir occasionally for about 15-20 minutes. You may need to add salt, depending on your preferences.
Meanwhile bring a large pot of water with a healthy scoop of salt to boil. Once the water is boiling cook pasta according to package instructions. Once pasta is done, drain and add cooked pasta to sauce. Serve up and sprinkle or drown each serving in pecorino. Consumption strongly advised with a glass of red wine with some body (try a Zinfandel, Malbec, Syrah, or Merlot).
