Spinasse Ragu Recipes

SPINASSE RAGU

Steps:

• In 4-quart Dutch oven, cook beef and pork with salt and pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Drain fat using colander over large bowl. Discard fat, and transfer meat to large bowl; set aside.
• In large food processor, place onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Cover; process until finely chopped. In same Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped vegetables and rosemary; cook about 15 minutes or until vegetables begin to brown.
• Add tomatoes and reserved meat to vegetables; cook about 15 minutes longer or until tomatoes darken in color. Add red wine. Increase heat to medium-high. Cook about 15 minutes longer or until liquid is reduced by half. Add chicken broth; reduce heat to low. Slowly simmer 3 to 4 hours or until meat is tender. Stir in nutmeg during last few minutes of cook time.

SLOW-COOKER PORK RAGU

Steps:

• Spray 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
• In 5-quart Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-high heat 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned and crisp. With slotted spoon, remove bacon to small bowl.
• Season pork with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Add half of the pork to bacon drippings in Dutch oven, and cook 4 to 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. With slotted spoon, remove pork from Dutch oven to slow cooker. Repeat with remaining pork.
• Add onions, carrots, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to Dutch oven; cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened. Stir in garlic and oregano; cook 30 seconds. Add broth; heat to simmering, stirring to remove brown bits on bottom. Transfer mixture to slow cooker with pork. Stir in tomatoes and bacon.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until pork is tender and easily falls apart. Before serving, shred pork with two forks. Serve over cooked pasta. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh herbs.

PASTA WITH CREAMY SPINACH MUSHROOM RAGú

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Cook the mushrooms, undisturbed, until browned underneath, 3 to 4 minutes. Toss and continue to cook, until browned on both sides and tender, 4 to 5 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a medium heatproof bowl.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter, onion, garlic and serrano and cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent and softened, about 6 minutes. Add the spinach and 1/4 cup water, cover and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Return the mushrooms to pot.
• Meanwhile, boil the pasta, stirring occasionally, until just under al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directs.
• Reserve 3/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and drain the pasta. Transfer the pasta and reserved cooking liquid to the pot with the spinach and mushrooms and add the crema. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer over medium heat, tossing the pasta constantly, until the pasta has fully cooked through and has absorbed some of the liquid, about 3 minutes. The sauce should be thick and creamy and will continue to thicken as it sits.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Add the 1 cup basil, 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt, if needed.
• Divide the pasta among bowls and top with more Parmesan and basil leaves.