It's World Pasta Day

Oct. 25 is the global call to pasta. As if we needed any more encouragement. Celebrate with this beef and pork ragú.

On a quick trip to New York last spring, we wandered around Eataly, Batali and company’s bustling temple to all things Italian (New York magazine calls it the tourist trap locals love, too). Roaming through aisle after aisle of pastas, Marion happened on a bag of calamaro – giant, sturdy tubes named for squid. I could tell by the way she smiled as she showed me the hefty noodles that she would come up with a perfect use for them. She did.

This is what we cooked: A huge amount of very meaty ragú, with plenty of vegetables and lots of paprika, too. We simmered it all for several hours, stirring occasionally, and then served it with the calamaro we got at Eataly. Of course, this tasted even better the next day, making it ideal to prepare ahead for a cool-weather dinner. Serve it with a simple salad starter and some fresh fruit and cheese for dessert. Done.

Beef and Pork Ragú
Serves at least 6

1/2 pound ground beef
1-1/2 pounds pork loin, cut into small chunks and cubes
2 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes - don’t drain off the liquid
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 cups coarsely chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup carrot cut into thin coins
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons paprika
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/2 bottle dry red wine [editor's note: or substitute of your choice]
black pepper
olive oil

1 pound pasta (or a little more)

First, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick sauté pan. Cook the ground beef, breaking it up into small chunks until it is no longer red. Drain the beef on paper towels, then transfer to a heavy-bottomed stock pot.

Next, brown the pork on all sides in the sauté pan and add it to the big pot. Deglaze the sauté pan with a splash of red wine and pour the wine into the pot.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the sauté pan. When it is medium hot, add 1/2 cup of the onion, all the garlic, 1/2 cup of the celery and 1/2 cup of the bell pepper to the pan and cook until the onion is translucent and limp, about 6 minutes. Add the paprika to the pan; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Then add this mixture to the big pot. Deglaze the pan again with another splash of red wine and add the liquid to the big pot.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the mushrooms and salt to the pot. Stir everything together. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down very low so that everything simmers very slowly. At the start, there should be enough liquid to come up just to the top of the ingredients, not to cover them. (You can add more if you feel nervous – just take that into account at the other end of the process.) Stir occasionally – about every 15 minutes should do it to prevent sticking. After the first two hours, add the mushrooms, and give it all another stir. Keep simmering for at least another hour. I would say four hours is a minimum.

The ragú will be done when the liquid has cooked down so that the sauce is no longer soupy – you want it to be chunky, yet still wet, with the individual pieces clearly visible and everything all melded together into a wonderful fragrant whole.

When the ragú is about ready, cook the pasta according to directions. Drain it well and divide among shallow bowls. Spoon the ragú over the pasta, and serve.

Kitchen Notes

Can’t find calamaro? This dish would work with any hefty shaped pasta, like rigatoni or conchiglie – not with a linear kind.

What is the difference between ragú and sugo? Sugos are sauces in general, while ragus are a subset of them, characterized by plenty of meat and long, slow simmering.

And finally, you can adjust the amounts in the recipe to make a smaller amount, but why? We cooked the recipe as written the first night, except with just 6 ounces of pasta. We used 1/3 of the ragú for two servings. We divided the remaining ragú, refrigerating one half and freezing the other. We had the refrigerated half the next night. As for the frozen portion, I can’t vouch for its long-term survival.

Related post: Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano and Pepper