Tucci Ragù Food

SHORT RIBS WITH TAGLIATELLE

Steps:

• Place the olive oil in a large heavy soup pot over medium heat. Cook the pancetta until golden and crisp, about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, season the short ribs with salt and pepper, and dredge in the flour. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta from the pan and set aside. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown on all sides, about 7 minutes total.
• Meanwhile, combine the onion, carrot, parsley and garlic in a food processor and blend until finely minced. Then add the tomatoes and tomato paste and pulse.
• Once the short ribs are browned, carefully add the mixture from the food processor to the pot. Return the pancetta to the pot and stir. Add the rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, beef broth, and wine. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another hour and a half, stirring occasionally. Remove the meat and bones from the pot. Discard the bones. Shred the meat and return it to the pot. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper, or to taste.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes for dried pasta and 2 to 3 minutes for fresh. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Add the reserved pasta liquid 1/4 cup at a time, if
• needed, to moisten the pasta. Transfer to serving bowls, top each bowl with 1 teaspoon of chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.

BAKED RIGATONI WITH LAMB RAGù

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a medium (10- to 11-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and fennel and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to brown. Add the lamb, garlic and fennel seeds and cook for 8 minutes, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, 2 cups of the wine, the oregano, red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Off the heat, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of red wine.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt and the rigatoni and cook according to the directions on the package, until barely al dente. Drain.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and cream. Add the rigatoni and toss well. Grate half of the mozzarella on a box grater and add it to the rigatoni mixture. Add the lamb mixture, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper and toss well.
• Transfer to a 10-by-14-by-2-inch baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Slice the remaining mozzarella and arrange it on top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the sauce is hot and bubbling and some of the pasta is crusty on top. Serve hot.

TUCCI RAGù

Steps:

• In a stew pot over medium-high heat, warm olive oil. Sear stewing beef until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from pot, set aside in a bowl.
• Add spareribs to pot and sear until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove ribs and set aside in bowl with stewing beef. (If your pot is big enough to hold all the meat in a single layer, it may be cooked at the same time.)
• Stir onions and garlic into pot. Reduce heat to low and cook until onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, scraping bottom of the pot clean. Add tomato paste to pot. Pour 1/2 cup warm water into tomato paste can to loosen any residual paste and then pour into pot. Cook to warm the paste through, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes along with additional 1 cup warm water. Stir in basil and oregano. Cover with lid slightly askew and simmer about 30 minutes.
• Return meat to pot, along with any juices that accumulated in bowl. Cover with lid slightly askew and simmer, stirring frequently, until meat is very tender and tomatoes are cooked, about 2 hours. Warm water may be added to sauce, in 1/2-cup portions, if sauce becomes too thick.

TAGLIATELLE WITH DUCK RAGù

Steps:

• Heat butter and oil in a deep 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides.
• Meanwhile, pat duck dry and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
• Sear duck, skin side down, until golden brown and some of fat has rendered, about 6 minutes. Turn over and cook until browned, about 2 minutes more. Transfer duck to a plate, then add onion to fat in skillet with garlic, rosemary, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add wine and boil 3 minutes.
• Return duck, skin side up, to skillet, then add any juices from plate, stock, and tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil, then gently simmer, covered, 1 hour.
• Transfer duck to a cutting board, then skim off about three fourths of fat from sauce and discard.
• Purée sauce in batches in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return sauce to skillet and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 8 minutes.
• While sauce reduces, finely chop duck with skin.
• Return chopped duck to sauce and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook tagliatelle in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente, then drain pasta and toss with duck ragú.