I have new recipes in mind to write about, but I wanted comfort food this week and I’m recycling one of my old WFDs.
Perciatelli with Meatballs and Tomato-Porcini Sauce
From Bon Appetit – for 6 or more
Italians traditionally combine a specific shape of pasta with a sauce, and this recipe specifies perciatelli, a long thin hollow pasta that I don’t see often. Substitute spaghetti.
2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups hot water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 ½ 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes with added puree (about 4 ½ cups)
4 slices white bread, with crusts, torn into pieces
1 cup milk (or enough to cover the bread)
¾ pound ground veal or ground beef
¾ pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
¾ cup grated Romano cheese
3 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
olive oil for frying
1 ½ pounds perciatelli or spaghetti
additional grated Romano cheese
Place dried mushrooms in a small bowl. Pour 2 cups hot water over, soak 30 minutes to soften. Remove mushrooms from water; squeeze liquid from mushrooms back into bowl. Chop mushrooms; reserve liquid.
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add rosemary and crushed red pepper, stir 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and 2/3 of the chopped porcini. Pour in mushroom liquid, leaving the sediment in the bottom of the bowl. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Put bread in a medium bowl. Pour milk over. Let stand until bread is very soft, about 15 minutes. Squeeze milk from bread; place bread in large bowl. Add veal or beef, sausage, ¾ cup cheese, eggs, rosemary, salt, pepper and remaining porcini. Using hands, blend the mixture thoroughly.
Pour olive oil into a heavy large skillet to a depth of ¼ inch; heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches, form meat mixture into 1 ½ inch balls; add to skillet. Cook until brown on all sides. With a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to paper towel and drain.
Add meatballs to the tomato sauce. Simmer until meatballs are just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to platter. Spoon sauce and meatballs over. Serve, passing additional cheese separately.
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Who else here watches Food Network all the time? “Spoon sauce over” will get you Chopped. Dunk your cooked drained spaghetti into the pot of sauce and get it well coated before plating, then spoon any remaining sauce over.
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Since I normally cook for one, the above is several meals, including this fine Meatball sandwich. My nearest supermarket has a bakery and I love their soft sandwich rolls.
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Dinner here will actually be baked chicken with salad and aloo jeera (Indian fried potatoes).
What’s for dinner at your place?
Everyone here has good recipes, I know it! Please share some with us in a future WFD. Message ninkasi23 if you can.