Weeknight Ragù

Weeknight Ragù

By CHRIS MOROCCO
Total time 45 minutes
Serves 4

Many ragùs require hours of simmering. Not this one. Here we take the express lane, opting for ground meat, which gives you a head start on tenderness, and combining it with flavor-packed ingredients like double-concentrated tomato paste and heavy cream. Together they make for a sauce that’s just as satisfying as one that’s cooked all day. You can use pretty much any ground meat in this speedy meat sauce, but this is not the time to seek out extra-lean cuts. If you’re buying chicken or turkey, try to find ground dark meat, which is less prone to drying out.

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

1⁄4 cup Muir Glen Organic Double
Concentrated Tomato Paste

4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 lb. ground pork, turkey, beef, or chicken

Kosher salt

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 Calabrian chiles in oil, finely chopped,
or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1⁄4 cup heavy cream

Freshly ground pepper
12 oz. gemelli or other short pasta

1 oz. Parmesan, finely grated, plus more
for serving
Basil leaves (for serving)

Preparation

STEP 1

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a medium Dutch
oven or large skillet over medium-high.
Add pork in 8–10 pieces, spacing evenly,
and season with salt. Let cook, undisturbed,
until deeply browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Turn over and cook until deeply
browned on other side, about 3 minutes.
Transfer to a plate (meat won’t be cooked
through at this point).

STEP 2

Reduce heat to medium and add
remaining 2 Tbsp. oil to pot. Cook onion,
stirring often, until softened and just
beginning to turn golden around edges,
about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook,
stirring often, until fragrant, abou
2 minutes. Add chiles and tomato paste
and cook, stirring often, until paste
is slightly darkened in color, about
3 minutes. Return pork to pot and break
up into small pieces. Add cream and
11⁄2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, then
reduce heat, and simmer gently until
liquid is reduced by one third and flavors
have come together, 15–20 minutes.
Season ragù with salt and pepper.

STEP 3

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of
boiling salted water, stirring occasionally,
until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup
pasta cooking liquid.

STEP 4

Add pasta to ragù along with 1⁄2 cup pasta
cooking liquid and 1 oz. Parmesan. Cook,
stirring and adding more pasta cooking
liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta,
about 2 minutes.

STEP 5

Divide pasta among shallow bowls and
top with basil and more Parmesan.

Back to Recipes