October 27 – November 2, 2024

Sunday:                   Ragù Cilentano

Monday:                  Arugula, Cucumber, Tomato, Feta Salad

Tuesday:                  K.L. Biegel’s Fall Meatloaf

  

Wednesday:          Charlie Bird’s Farro Salad with Jammy Eggs

Friday:                      Slow-Roasted Salmon with Lemons and Oranges

Saturday:                Roasted Mushroom Pizza

The Apotheosis of Sunday Gravy

There are as many wonderful Sunday gravies as there are Italian grandmothers, or descendants of Italian grandmothers, including several major figures in La Cosa Nostra.  So let me begin by noting that I don’t wish to start a blood feud with a Sicilian and by acknowledging that there can be no one best Sunday gravy.

But, in spite of my trepidation in the face of old family recipes and traditions, I will maintain that this week’s recipe is by far the best, quick ragù that most of us will ever cook.  Are you okay with that Enzo?  Please consider that I am a descendant of Scots and Irish who could barely cook oatmeal, that I am up in years and wear glasses so that beating me up would prove nothing.  And, in any event, I bet your mother’s Sunday gravy, or even yours, is the best in the world – it’s just that I haven’t had the privilege of eating it.

Now last week, I mentioned that we have been in an Ina Garten rut, and this week we will be entering a beef short ribs rut. Both of these are ruts that I am not anxious to get out of – I mean, I would let my little cart wobble down these ruts forever.  But Beez will probably knock some sense of diversity into me by next week.

The unusual twist to this gravy/sauce/ragù from Cilentano is that it uses solid, small, chunks of tender short rib.  As I read the recipe, I thought that would make it a bit clunky, but it turns out to give a wonderful chew to the whole ensemble.  If you are not eating in the same room as Barbara, our family’s dietary monitor, you will not be able to stop eating this week’s dish.  Of course, Barbara can only be in one place at a time and it’s amazing how much pasta and sauce can be taken in on a quick trip to the kitchen to refill the wine glasses.  (Please don’t tell her about that.)

Ragù Cilentano with Pasta (Pasta with Gravy

(adapted from Milk Street Magazine, Nov/Dec, 2024)

(adapted from Milk Street Magazine, Nov-Dec, 2024)

Timing:                      3 ½ – 4 hours – well, what did you expect?

Ingredients:                                           Serves 6

1 pound boneless beef short ribs, cut into 1-inch chunks (we used 1 1/3 lbs. and cut the beef into ¾” chunks”)

4 ounces pancetta, diced (buy the pre-dice package of ‘Citerio’ pancetta available in most large grocery stores)

28 oz. can whole, peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand

½ cup dry white wine

Medium yellow onion, chopped

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound cavatelli pasta (or orecchiette)

1 ounce Parmesam cheese, finely grated (1/3 cup), plus more for serving

½ cup chopped, fresh basil

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Prep:

Heat the oven to 350 F with a rack in the middle position.

Trim the hard fat from the short ribs.  This may result in some pieces smaller than called for, but that’s okay.  You won’t have to degrease, if you do this.  And this trimming is one of the reasons I buy more than the called-for amount of short ribs.

Chop the pancetta, unless you bought the pre-diced kind.

Chop the onion

Pour the tomatoes into a bowl and crush them by hand.

Cook:

Put the oil into a Dutch oven over medium and add the pancetta and onion, cooking and stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned – this took me about 7 minutes, Milk Street did it in 4.

Now add the tomato paste and cook, stirring until it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan – 1-2 minutes.

Add the wine and cook, deglazing and scraping up any browned bits, until reduced by half – a minute or slightly longer.

Stir in the beef, tomatoes with their juices, ½ cup water, ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper.  – Don’t add more salt and pepper since this is a long cook and the flavors will concentrate.  You can always correct the seasoning at the end of the cooking.

Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove the pot from the oven, uncover and stir, scraping the sides.  Return the pot to the oven UNCOVERED and cook until a skewer inserted into the beef meets no resistance – about 30 more minutes.

Remove pot from the oven, skim and discard some fat from the surface, but leave a bit for flavor.  Note:  If you’ve trimmed the beef as I suggest, you won’t need to skim.

Cover the pot to keep warm while you cook the pasta.

In a large pot, boil 4 quarts of water then add the pasta and 1 tablespoon of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente (see directions on the pasta package).  Reserve 1 or 2 cups of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Turn the heat under the ragù on to medium, add the pasta to the ragù and cook, stirring until the pasta is coated and heated through.  If it looks dry, add some of the pasta water.

Turn off the heat and add the cheese and basil.  Taste and correct seasonings.  Serve with extra cheese.  Perfect with some crusty bread and whipped salted butter and a simple salad of dressed greens.