Sunday Meat Sauce With Orecchiette Recipes

SPICY SHRIMP ORECCHIETTE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking water, then drain.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped fennel bulb and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, 2 more minutes (add a splash of water if the mixture is sticking). Stir in the tomato, shrimp, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 cup of the reserved cooking water. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are saucy, about 8 more minutes.
• Add the pasta and cheese to the sauce and toss to coat. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and add more of the reserved pasta water to loosen, if necessary. Stir in the basil leaves and fennel fronds. Divide among plates.
• Per serving: Calories 532; Fat 15 g (Saturated 5 g); Cholesterol 131 mg; Sodium 919 mg; Carbohydrate 71 g; Fiber 6 g; Protein 29 g

SUNDAY SAUCE WITH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Strain the plum tomatoes in a colander to extract the juice, breaking the tomatoes apart with your hands. Discard the pulp and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 4 cloves garlic, the onion, red pepper and black pepper. Saute until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add juiced tomatoes, red wine, Parmesan and salt. Add the tomato paste and the water and stir together over medium heat. *Cook's Note: Tomato paste should be added after making meatballs and ribs.
• Put the ground meat in a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs and add them to the meat along with 6 cloves garlic, the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Parmesan and milk. Mix this all together with your hands. Wet your hands with water and continue to wet them as you pinch meat from the bowl and roll into 2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the flour.
• Heat 1/2-cup of oil in a large skillet. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic and saute until golden brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the meatballs and saute over medium-high heat, turning them until they are brown all over.
• *Cook's Note: As soon as you can pick them up with a fork, they are ready. You don't want them to be well done. If the meatball slides off the fork when you pick it up, it needs to cook a little longer.
• Cut the ribs apart and remove the membrane. Saute them in 1/2-cup oil until very brown and remove.
• Return the garlic to the oil and add tomato paste (for the sauce) to the pan; Cook, stirring, over medium heat for about 3 minutes until it softens. Remove from the heat and add to the sauce.
• Add the meatballs and spareribs to the sauce. Bring to an easy boil, then simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Add the basil and simmer for 15 minutes more. The spareribs should be very tender, falling off the bone and the meatballs should float in the sauce

SAUSAGE AND RADICCHIO ORECCHIETTE

Steps:

• Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and the sausages and using a wooden spoon, break up the sausages into small pieces as you brown them. Add the mint and bay leaves and continue to cook.
• Once the sausage is golden brown, add the wine to the pan, and stir away, let the alcohol evaporate, then lower the flame and season with salt and pepper. Add the walnuts and let the sauce slowly simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions for al dente.
• When ready to serve, add the radicchio to the sauce, and stir well.
• Add the cooked pasta and toss. Add some grated Parmesan, to taste. Serve immediately. Buon Appetito!

SUNDAY SAUCE

Steps:

• Season the pork shoulder all over with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high. Working in batches if necessary, cook the pork until browned on two sides, 8 to 10 minutes total, adding more oil if the pan looks dry. Transfer pieces to a bowl as they finish. Add the sausages to the pot and cook until browned, 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer to the bowl.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, if needed, and the onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the red wine, stir, scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan and cook until the wine is nearly evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and basil, then fill one of the 28-ounce cans with water. (You'll use it in a second.) Return the pork shoulder and sausages to the pot, along with any accumulated juices in the bowl. Nudge them around so they are submerged. Add the meatballs on top, then add enough water from the can to cover the meat. (There's no need to stir.) Partly cover the pot, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork shoulder falls apart when shredded with a fork, 2 to 2½ hours.
• When you're ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions until al dente. While the pasta cooks, slice the sausage and shred the pork shoulder. Transfer to a platter along with the meatballs and a few spoonfuls of sauce. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain and add the pasta to the pot of sauce. Over medium heat, toss the pasta with the sauce, adding pasta water as needed until the sauce clings to the pasta.
• Divide pasta between bowls, then top with a bit of each meat. Pass the Parmesan and platter of meat at the table.