PASTA WITH MEAT SAUCE

INTRODUCTION

This Florentine dish is typical of home cooking; rarely will it be found in a restaurant. Not as rich as a Bolognese sauce it relies on prime quality ingredients and is quite different to a southern Italian sugo. Very much a one course mid week meal ideal for winter months it is not an especially demanding recipe in relation to total hands-on cooking time, but one does have to be in the background keeping an eye on the dish as it cooks. Accompany with a young, robust red wine.

Before starting consider reading Cooking Pasta.

INGREDIENTS

Stage 1 ingredients
10 g (circa 0.4 oz) of dried porcini
water for soaking the porcini

Stage 2 ingredients
300 g (circa ¾ lb) of finely minced steak
3 - 4 chicken livers
1 small red onion
1 small carrot
1 stick of celery
20 - 25 leaves of flat leafed parsley
5 Tablespoons of best quality Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of double concentrated tomato paste
¼ glass of red wine
5 Tablespoons of porcini soaking liquid
fine sea salt
freshly ground BLACK pepper

500 - 600 g/17.5 - 21 oz of hard spaghetti (e.g. Barilla No.5)

water for cooking the spaghetti

coarse sea salt

2 teaspoons of best quality Olive Oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Stage 1 cooking instructions 

Soak the dried porcini in water for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Stage 2 cooking instructions 

Peel and finely chop the red onion. Repeat for the carrot and stick of celery. Add the parsley leaves and finely chop with a mezzaluna. This is the battuto/mire-pois. 

Place the oil (best quality) in a large pan and add the battuto/mire-pois. Stir gently and heat from cold over a very low flame for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the onions are translucent, stirring well from time to time. 

Meanwhile remove any gallbladder, etc from the chicken livers and very finely chop. Add to the minced steak. 

Take the soaking porcini, squeeze dry, finely slice and put to one side. Strain and retain the soaking medium. 

When the battuto/mire-pois has cooked, remove all excess oil. Add the minced steak, chicken livers and porcini. Stir well and brown over a low to medium heat for circa 5 minutes. Add the wine and let it bubble away. 

Dissolve the tomato paste in the porcini soaking liquid and add to the pan. Stir well. Add salt and pepper, stir again, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender. The sauce should be thick but still retain some liquid. 

Meanwhile bring a large stock pot of well salted water to the boil. Measure out the pasta. 

When the water is boiling vigorously, add the spaghetti, stir and, when the water has returned to the boil, time the cooking (as per advice on packet). 

Pour a couple of teaspoons of best quality olive oil into the serving dish and put to one side. 

Close to the end of the recommended cooking time for the spaghetti, rescue a few strands with a fork, and taste to see if it is cooked. 

When satisfied that the pasta is ‘al dente’, strain the cooked spaghetti into a colander and shake well to remove all excess water. Empty into the serving dish and toss well in the oil. Add circa 80% of the sauce and toss well. Pour the remainder of the sauce on the pasta and serve immediately. 

COMMENTS

Use high quality steak, trimmed of any fat and minced by your butcher.

Traditionally the battuto/mire-pois is placed in cold best quality olive oil and very slowly fried over a very low flame to ensure the flavor of the oil is absorbed and the battuto/mire-pois does not burn. Under a very low flame this works beautifully.

Dried porcini can include soil and small pieces of grit, so always strain the soaking liquid through a small sieve before using. 

The addition of wine is not traditional but it adds depth of flavor.

A lot of salt and pepper is required for this sauce.

If you make your own or can buy good fresh hand made pici consider substituting for the spaghetti. 

The dish benefits from the addition of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese at table. 

The sauce can be made in advance and re-heated. Retain a tablespoon of porcini soaking liquid for re-heating.