Sauce me properly.

If you ask around you'll find that the secret to high quality tomato sauce is shockingly simple. The secret: tomatoes and carrots. Let me explain. Since your sauce is minimalist in nature it should be made with high quality ingredients so that the few ingredients may accentuate the pasta. Fortunately, when it comes to canned tomatoes, finding quality is easy. Every Italian cook worth his/her weight in lira will tell you you that San Marzano tomatoes are the best in the world. San Marzano isn't a brand, but rather the name of a commune, nestled in the volcanic soil near Mt. Vesuvius, where the first San Marzano tomato was grown. The tomatoes are especially good for sauce making for two reasons. They are less acidic and sweeter then say, Roma tomatoes, and have a deeper tomato flavor.

However, no matter how less acidic one tomato is than another tomato, it was always be acidic. That's where the carrot comes in. Carrots, much like beets, are full of natural sweetness and using a small amount of carrot in your pasta sauce imparts a sweetness that will offset the acidity of the tomatoes. Since I've already provided a recipe for simple tomato sauce in my fresh pasta post I decided to use make a meat ragout still erring on the side of simplicity.


Bucatini with Turkey Ragout

* Bucatini is a thick spaghetti like pasta with a hole running through the center

1 lb Bucatini
1.25 lbs ground turkey
1 medium size carrot diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 28 oz can San Marzano tomatoes (crushed, if whole make sure to chop the tomatoes first)
1 tsp ground sage (if you have poultry seasoning leftover from thanksgiving, that works too)
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Place a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the oil. When the oil is heated add the carrot and saute 4-5 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes. Add the ground turkey and saute until brown and cooked through. Season thoroughly with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, sage and a ladle or two of the pasta water. Stir, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Serve immediately with chives or parsley.

Animals wrapped in other animals: Meatloaf wrapped in duck bacon.

My friend Jason, aware of my lack of pork consumption recently turned me on to duck bacon, much like turkey bacon but actually delicious. If you're like me and think that anything with duck fat is delicious, you will love this recipe. This is more decadent than your average meatloaf, so I made a nice accompaniment that balances the richness of the meatloaf.

Duck Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

2 lbs lean ground beef (93% lean)
1 large onion minced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 medium carrot minced
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp pepper
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the over to 325 degrees. In a large mixing bowl mix the ground beef, eggs, onion, carrot, garlic, milk, Worcestershire sauce, milk, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and garlic powder until combined. Set aside. In a loaf pan layer the duck bacon on the bottom and sides of the pan.



Add the meatloaf mixture and spread evenly. Cover the top with remaining bacon.



*Note I ran out of duck bacon so I had to use turkey bacon...bummer.

Place the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour. After one hour, the loaf will have shrunk away from the sides of the pan and a large amount of duck fat will have accumulated. DO NOT THROW THIS OUT. Carefully, pour the excess duck fat into a bowl and set aside. Put a baking rack upside down over the top of the meat loaf and flip it over much like you would a cooled cake. Place the rack with the meatloaf on top of the loaf pan. This way the the underside of duck bacon is exposed and can brown in the oven, while the loaf pan catches any more drippings. Place back in the oven for 40 more minutes.

Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pot add the duck fat and drippings and chicken broth. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. In a bowl mix together the flour and water and add to the pot. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from the heat and cover. That's gravy.

When the meatloaf has finished cooking remove it from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.







The recession has forced people to be more economical and stretch their budgets when it comes to food and while this meatloaf is clearly not a reflection of that, the accompaniment is. True or false, you can eat broccoli stems? True, and they're delicious when you pickle them.

for the the pickled broccoli stems:

3 cups broccoli stems
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
2 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
1 fresh chili pepper sliced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt

Using a sharp knife, peel away the fibrous skin of the broccoli.






Then cut the pale inside trunk into matchstick-size batons. Blanch for one minute in boiling water, drain and cool under cold running water.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients, pour over the broccoli stems in a large bowl, toss and chill. Refrigerate for two hours before serving.

Serve the meatloaf with the gravy and some of the pickles on the side. The pickles match the meatloaf perfectly. The acidity and brightness of the pickles goes well with the richness of the meatloaf. Enjoy.