Chickpea Pasta With Moroccan Beef Ragu Recipes

TAGLIOLINI WITH CRAB RAGU

Steps:

• In a saute pan, add olive oil and garlic and saute for 1 minute, until golden brown. Add crabs, oregano, red pepper, salt, and pepper, and continue to saute for 5 minutes. Add crab stock to mixture and continue to saute for 4 minutes. Crab stock should be prepared ahead of time with mirepoix of vegetables and crab shells. Add tomatoes with juice. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer. Continue to stir until sauce has been brought to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes. Add basil and remove from the heat. Add frozen peas and stir.
• Boil pasta in water for 8 to 10 minutes until al dente, and strain. For a more velvety sauce, add butter to the pasta before adding the sauce. Make sure the butter has been incorporated well into the pasta before adding the sauce. Season, to taste. Before adding finished sauce to pasta, remove crabs from saucepot and keep warm.
• To serve, add pasta to soup bowl. Top with sauce and lump crabmeat and place 1 or 2 crab bodies on top.

CHICKPEA PASTA STEW

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the crushed red pepper, garlic, onion, 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper and cook until the garlic is softened and the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the chickpeas and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the chickpeas are coated and heated through, about 3 minutes. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash about a quarter of the chickpeas; this will help thicken the stew and give it body.
• Stir in the marinara sauce, pasta, lemon zest, Parmesan rind and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally to make sure the pasta isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot, until the pasta is very al dente, about 10 minutes. Stir in the greens and continue to cook until completely wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Add more salt and black pepper to taste. Divide among bowls, top with the grated Parmesan and some crushed red pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

MATZO GNOCCHI WITH BRISKET RAGU

Steps:

• For the brisket ragu: Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or large ovenproof pot with a lid over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the meat fat-side down and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Carefully flip the meat with tongs and brown on the other side, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
• Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot and stir to scrape up the browned bits. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring frequently, until very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently to avoid scorching, until the tomato paste is dark red and slightly sticky, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, broth and bay leaves and season generously with black pepper.
• Submerge the brisket in the sauce fat-side down; pour in any accumulated juices from the dish. Bring the sauce just to a boil, then cover the pot and immediately transfer to the oven. Cook until the sauce is thickened and the brisket is very tender, 2 to 3 hours.
• Discard the bay leaves. Transfer the brisket to a rimmed baking sheet. Shred the brisket with two forks. Stir the meat back into the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead.
• For the gnocchi: Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover by 1 inch with salted water. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat and simmer until they are tender when pierced with a fork or the tip of a paring knife, about 25 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set them aside until cool enough to handle.
• Remove the skins with a paring knife and cut the potatoes into large chunks. Pass the chunks through a potato ricer (see Cook's Note) onto a clean work surface. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt over the potatoes and let them cool completely.
• While the potatoes are cooling, pulse the matzo meal in a spice grinder or blender until very finely ground (it should be similar in texture to flour). Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Sprinkle 2 cups of the matzo meal over the cooled potatoes. Pour the eggs over the matzo meal and begin to work the mixture together with a fork. Once the mixture begins to clump together, use your hands to gently knead until the ingredients are fully combined, about 2 minutes. Gather the dough into a smooth ball and let rest for about 15 minutes.
• Lightly dust a work surface with a some of the reserved matzo meal. Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a 12-inch rope. Use a knife or bench scraper to cut the rope into 3/4-inch pieces; place the cut gnocchi on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gnocchi can be prepared to this point up to 2 days ahead; wrap the baking sheet in plastic and refrigerate.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add about a third of the gnocchi at a time and cook until they begin to float and the water returns to a rapid simmer, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the gnocchi to a platter or individual serving bowls. Ladle ragu over the gnocchi, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.

MOROCCAN CHICKPEAS WITH CHARD

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add onion and jalapeño and sauté until limp, 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper and cayenne and sauté until they release their fragrance, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté for another minute, until darkened but not burned. (If tomato paste looks too dark too quickly, lower heat.)
• Add fennel, chard stems, carrot and turnip and continue to sauté until vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes. Add chickpeas and water to barely cover.
• Return heat to high if you lowered it and bring to a simmer. Partly cover pot, lower heat to medium low, and simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until chickpeas are softened. Add more water if needed (this should be like a stew).
• Add chard leaves, apricots and preserved lemon to pot and continue simmering until chard is tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more salt if desired, and serve garnished with cilantro and reserved fennel fronds.