Mark Bittman's Thirty-Minute Ragù: Simple & Delicious Comfort Food!

Mark Bittman's Thirty-Minute Ragù make not seem like the the most summer-like dish for humid August, but it's Potluck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, our time to make any Bittman dish we like and this week, I am liking comfort food. I had a pound of ground beef from Maui, no desire to go to the store and a big craving for a bowl of pasta, so I consulted the "How to Cook Everything" iPhone application and found I had everything I needed to make this recipe. I am sure it is in the HTCE book too--I'm just way too lazy to drag it out and look up the page number. ;-)

This sauce comes together quickly and has great flavor--especially if you add some extra ingredients as I did, in red below. I have a hard time not adding extras to my pasta sauces, and garlic and anchovy paste always add a greater depth of flavor that I like. Served on some fresh tagliatelle I had on hand in the fridge, with some fluffy grated pecorino-Romano cheese and a little fresh basil from the container garden, it was a perfect dinner to curl up in front of the fan (it's a bit humid this week!) and eat while watching a little Top Chef.

Thirty-Minute Ragù

adapted from "How to Cook Everything"

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

8-12 oz ground meat (I used Maui ground beef)

1 can (28 ounce) whole plum tomatoes, with the juice

2 tsp anchovy paste

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp red chili pepper flakes

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup cream

1 lb pasta of choice

freshly grated pecorino-Romano cheese to garnish

fresh basil to garnish

Put the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender about 5 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until all traces of red are gone, about 5 minutes.

Crush the tomatoes with a fork or your hands and add them to the pot. Add the anchovy paste, tomato paste, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Turn the heat to low and stirring occasionally, cook the tomatoes until they just start to break down, about 15 minutes. Add the cream and cook for another 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Meanwhile cook pasta, drain and toss with the ragu. Garnish with freshly grated pecorino Romano, chopped fresh basil and serve.

Notes/Results: Creamy, meaty, and full of rich tomato flavor, this is a delicious comfort food dish. I think adding the additional ingredients really added to overall flavor and made it perfect for me. The local ground beef was fresh, juicy and flavorful and the crushed red pepper flakes gave it a happy little kick. Beings that it is a fairly quick dish that is low-effort and soothing to make, it made me a happy camper after a busy day. I will definitely make this again.

In addition to Potluck at IHCC, I'm sending this ragù to this week's Presto Pasta Nights, being hosted by Siri from Siri's Corner. She will be rounding up a bunch of delicious pasta creations at her blog on Friday and of course you can check out the fabulous potluck creations at IHCC by going to the site (here) and following the links.

BTW--Don't forget I am giving away 2 autographed copies of the fun Hawaii foodie mystery: "Captain Cooked"--along with a few local ingredients to help you cook some of the fabulous recipes in the book. Get the details on how to enter here.


Aloha!