Meat Main Course

Meat Patties

Makes 12 patties, 4 servings. 

These nicely seasoned patties are a welcome change from hamburgers.  I serve them with rice noodles. You can also serve them with warmed pita, sliced onions and coarsely chopped tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS:

  • ½ cup pine nuts

  • 1 cup tightly packed flat leaf parsley, plus some for garnish

  • 2 shallots, quartered

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound ground meat, a blend of half veal and half beef ground together

PREPARATION:

In a food processor place the pine nuts, parsley, shallots, cumin, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the meat and pulse until thoroughly combined.

Form into 12 patties (about 2 tablespoons each).   

In a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a cover, heat 2 tablespoons oil and sauté the patties over medium high heat, covered, until well browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes on each side.  Serve garnished with finely chopped parsley. 

NOTE:

You may want to moisten your hands when forming the patties to minimize the sticking.



Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

Pasta+with+Bolognese+Sauce.jpg

Makes 4 main course servings.

This sauce is as an all year favorite of mine that I keep in the freezer to have on hand. You can use any shape pasta.

INGREDIENTS:

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped

  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 2 carrots, finely chopped

  • ¾ cup dry red wine

  • 1 pound chopped meat, a blend of ½ pound veal and ½ pound beef

  • 26.46 ounce carton of chopped tomatoes (Pomi)

  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste, double concentrated

  • 1 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley, finely chopped  

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 pound imported rigatoni, or any other shaped pasta

PREPARATION:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan.

  2. Add the vegetables and sauté over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the meat and stir until the color of the meat changes.

  3. Add the wine, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat and simmer covered for about 1 hour, stirring from time to time. Add the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. In a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the rigatoni. Stir and boil briskly, uncovered for 7 minutes. The pasta should be VERY al dente. It will continue cooking in the hot sauce.

  5. Combine with the hot sauce and season to taste.

NOTE:

I chop the vegetables in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. The onions and garlic can be chopped together and the carrots separately. Please quarter the vegetables first.