Christmas Pasta

Looking for something to serve on Christmas day? Here's a flavorful sauce with pancetta, Italian sausage, veal, pork and beef!

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Intermediate
Yield: 4 servings


Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
1/4 pound pancetta, thick cut, chopped into small bits (Italian cured pork, ask at deli counter)
1/2 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1 pound combined ground beef, pork and veal
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup good quality dry red wine
1 cup prepared beef stock, paper container or canned
2 (32-ounce) cans chunky style crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/4 teaspoon (a couple of pinches) allspice or cinnamon
Coarse salt and black pepper
2 pounds penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Grated Pecorino Romano, as an accompaniment
Fresh, crusty bread, for mopping


Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay, and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute. Add meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes.


Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.


Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.


Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.


From: foodnetwork.com

Veal Rolls with Pancetta

Cook Time: 10 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings


Ingredients

1 pound veal scaloppine from the butcher counter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls
Salt and pepper
1 pound smoked fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 (16 to 18-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
1/3 pound pancetta, sliced like thin cut bacon at deli counter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
1 clove cracked garlic
1 (10-ounce) sack baby spinach or triple washed spinach leaves
1/4 to 1/3 cup white wine or dry vermouth


Directions

Arrange scaloppine on waxed paper or plastic. Sprinkle veal with parsley, salt and pepper. Place a thin layer of cheese and a few slices of roasted pepper on each scaloppine. Roll veal and wrap each roll with a slice of pancetta. Secure with toothpicks.


Fry veal rolls in a thin layer of extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, until golden all over and pancetta is crisp, 5 or 6 minutes. Remove from pan to warm platter. Return skillet to heat. Add a drizzle of oil and cracked garlic. Wilt spinach in pan, add a touch of wine or vermouth to lift drippings and combine them with greens. Using tongs, place a bed of spinach on each dinner plate and top with veal rolls. Serve immediately.

From: foodnetwork.com

Big Beef Meatballs with Bucatini

Cook Time: 25 min
Level: Easy
Yield : 4 servings

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
* 2 small to medium yellow onion, 1 grated and 1 finely chopped
* 6 cloves garlic, chopped, divided
* 1 egg
* 1/2 to 2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs, a couple of overflowing handfuls
* 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at table
* 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg
* 3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
* 2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves, 4 to 6 sprigs
* A couple generous handfuls flat-leaf parsley, chopped, divided
* Salt and pepper
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
* 1 pound bucatini (thick, hollow spaghetti)
* 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
* 12 baby portobello caps, (crimini mushrooms), chopped
* 1/2 cup dry red wine, eyeball it
* 1 cup, (8 ounces), beef stock
* 1 (28-ounce), can crushed tomatoes, San Marzano if available

Directions

Preheat 400 degrees F. Place a large pot of water over high heat and
bring to a boil.

Mix meat with the grated onion, 3 cloves chopped garlic, egg, bread
crumbs, cheese, allspice, capers, sage, a handful of the chopped
parsley, salt and pepper and a healthy drizzle of extra-virgin olive
oil. Mix meat, score the meat into 4 sections and make 3 very large
balls from each section. Arrange the 12 balls on a nonstick cookie
sheet and roast 15 minutes until firm but not hard.

Drop bucatini in salted boiling water to cook off. Drain.

Add another tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet and
the pancetta. Cook 3 to 4 minutes then add the remaining garlic and
mushrooms to the pan and cook 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with
salt and pepper. Add remaining chopped onion and deglaze the pan with
wine, cook off 1 minute, add in stock and whisk up remaining
drippings. Stir in the tomatoes and season sauce with salt and pepper,
if necessary. Stir in parsley. Simmer 5 minutes.

Toss pasta with half the sauce. Remove balls from oven and add to
remaining sauce and turn to coat. Serve large balls, 3 per person,
along side pasta. Spoon any remaining sauce over the pasta. Pass extra
cheese at the tables.

From: foodnetwork.com