Spicy Chorizo Bolognese Food

SPICY CHORIZO BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 8-9 minutes, until al dente. Drain the pasta using a colander then put the pasta back into the pot. Drizzle the pasta with olive oil and toss to coat.
• While the pasta water is heating, begin making the chorizo bolognese. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let it cook until it is golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Add the anchovies (if using) and the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes to let it caramelize.
• Add the chorizo and ground beef and let them cook through. Add the crushed tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and let the pot simmer gently for 10 minutes. Season to taste with sea salt.
• Serve the chorizo bolognese over the cooked pasta and top with any or all of the optional toppings.

SPICY LAMB BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and oil and warm until the butter is melted. Add the carrots, celery, onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft but have no color, about 6 minutes. Add the beef and lamb and cook, breaking apart the meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir the tomato paste, chili paste, red pepper flakes and garlic into the meat mixture. Cook the tomato paste, stirring often, about 2 minutes. Add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk is almost entirely evaporated, about 20 minutes.
• Add the wine, bay leaf, Parmesan rind, tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low to just maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Skim the oil from the surface.
• Spoon the sauce over the Creamy Polenta with Spinach, reserving any extra to serve on the side. Serve with the Parmesan sprinkled over the top and a drizzle of olive oil.
• In a Dutch oven, bring the chicken broth, oil, garlic and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and whisk in the polenta. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan, mascarpone, pecorino and butter. Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Fold in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes longer. Add 1/4 cup water if the mixture gets too thick.
• Pour the polenta onto a large board or platter. Serve with grated Parmesan over the top.

CHORIZO BOLOGNESE WITH BUFFALO MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• Place the chorizo in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Add the rosemary leaves and cook for 30 seconds or until crisp. Remove and set aside. Add the chorizo, chili flakes, garlic, salt and pepper to the pan and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until golden and crispy. Add the wine and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the liquid has slightly reduced.
• While the chorizo mixture is cooking, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for 6-8 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Add the reserved cooking liquid to the chorizo mixture and stir to combine. Top the pasta with the chorizo mixture, mozzarella, crispy rosemary and pepper to serve.

PASTA BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• For the pasta dough: Combine the flour, eggs and yolk in a food processor and pulse until a dough comes together. Transfer to a counter dusted lightly with flour and knead gently until the dough comes together and is smooth, about 1 minute. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
• Divide the dough into 4 pieces. With your hands, flatten and shape one piece of dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle. Dust it lightly with flour and pass it through the widest setting on the pasta machine. If the dough comes out oddly shaped, reform into a rectangle. Fold it in thirds, like a letter, and if necessary, flatten it to a 1/2-inch thickness. Pass it through the widest setting again with the seam of the letter perpendicular to the rollers. Repeat this folding and rolling step 10 to 12 times, dusting the dough with flour if it becomes sticky.
• Without folding the dough, pass it through the next setting on the pasta machine. Keep reducing the space between the rollers after each pass, lightly dusting the pasta with flour on both sides each time, until the pasta is about 1/16-inch thick and 3 inches wide.
• Lay the rolled-out dough on a counter. Roll out the remaining dough in the same manner. Cut each strip of dough into 11-inch lengths. Cut the dough into fettuccine. (Alternatively, use store-bought dried or fresh fettuccine.)
• For the meat: Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook slowly until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Increase the heat to high, add the chuck and pork to the pan and season with the fennel, chile flakes, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the pan.
• For the quick bolognese sauce: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the celery, fennel, onion and carrot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and ground fennel and cook for 1 minute more.
• Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Coarsely mash the tomatoes using a potato masher or wooden spoon, season with salt and pepper and cook until the sauce comes to a boil and begins to thicken slightly, about 15 minutes. Add the cooked bacon, chuck and pork to the pan and continue cooking until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes more. Fold in the parsley and oregano and season with salt and pepper.
• For the garlic bread: Preheat the broiler.
• Place the ciabatta on a baking sheet cut-side up. Heat it under the broiler until lightly golden brown. Combine the butter, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Slather the garlic butter over the bread and broil until bubbly and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove, let cool for a few minutes and cut into slices.
• To serve: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 4 minutes (if using dried noodles, follow package directions). Reserve a cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Put about 2 cups of the sauce in a large saute pan over high heat. Add the pasta, creme fraiche, some of the pasta water and a few handfuls of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Toss, top with the parsley and serve. Reserve remaining sauce for another use.