Tag Archives: marinara

Pork All’Arrabbiata

40 Comments

The other day I read an email from New York Times Cooking, What to Cook this Weekend, by Sam Sifton, that I only occasionally read. I say occasionally, because I dislike the format of the highly-packed food and cooking info in the emails. But a photo caught my eye so I read on.

I’m probably in the minority, but I think Sam Sifton must be an arrogant man. Or maybe he’s just too smart for me, but I would bet he’s someone who likes the sound of his own voice.

According to Wikipedia, “Sam Sifton is the food editor of The New York Times, the founding editor of NYT Cooking and a columnist for The New York Times Magazine. He has also served as the national editor, the restaurant critic and the culture editor.”

Okay, so he does know a few things. But he still seems show-off to me.

Mr. Sifton has a cookbook out, called “See You on Sunday.” It’s about Sunday meals, and has high reviews. Some reviewers suggest that the book is for novice cooks, and I’d have to agree. In the chicken section, are Tuscan chicken, chicken Milanese, beer can chicken, chicken paprika, chicken Provençal, chicken Shawarma… there’s just nothing new or exceptional.

The recipe in the email that caught my attention in the NYT Cooking email, from 2-21-2020, was braised pork All’Arrabbiata, by Ali Slagle. According to the recipe’s information, “this spicy pork shoulder’s long-simmered flavor is one you’ll crave all season long.”

Ut’s basically pulled pork, but instead of barbecue sauce, it’s cooked in a spicy red sauce. I served it as sandwiches. Delicious.

I substituted prepared Arrabiatta sauce for the fire-roasted tomatoes listed, but a good marinara like my Marinara would work just as well.

I also didn’t use wine. See printable recipe below for original recipe.

Braised Pork All’Arrabbiata
slightly adapted

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of more than 1/4″ fat
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne chile pepper flakes
42 ounces Arrabiatta or marinara sauce

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the pork all over with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the pork shoulder and sear until browned on all sides, 8 – 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and cayenne flakes to the oil and stir to combine. Add the marinara sauce, season with salt and pepper as necessary, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Cover, then transfer to the oven and cook until the pork falls apart when prodded with a fork, 3 hours.

Working directly in the pot, use two forks to shred the meat into long, bite-sized pieces. Stir the pork into the tomato sauce until it’s evenly distributed.

This lucious pork can be served in quite a few ways. As a sauce over pasta, served over polenta, or as sandwiches, similar to how you’d serve meatball subs.
.

I added grated mozzarella and Parmesan to the sandwiches before heating.

I thought these were way more fun than meatball subs, personally.


On another day, I prepared polenta and served the pork on top. That was also wonderful!

 

 

Braised Pork All’Arrabbiata

2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of more than 1/4″ fat
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin oil
10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 1/2 teaspoons red cayenne chile pepper flakes
42 ounces Marinara
8 ounces red wine
5 basil sprigs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the pork all over with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.

In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the pork shoulder and sear until browned on all sides, 8 – 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the garlic and cayenne flakes to the oil and stir to combine. Add the marinara sauce, season with salt and pepper as necessary, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Cover, then transfer to the oven and oook until the pork falls apart when prodded with a fork, 2- 2 1/2 hours.

Working directly in the pot, use two forks to shred the meat into long, bite-sized pieces.

Stir the pork into the tomato sauce until it’s evenly distributed.

The ragu will store refrigerated for 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

 

 

Lamb Balls in Red Sauce

35 Comments

A while back I saw a recipe for lamb meatballs, cooked in a red sauce. It really appealed to me because I love lamb. And, I think I could eat shoe soles cooked in red sauce.


But did I print this recipe? Or even take notes as to where I found it? Stupidly no, although I’m typically organized about such important things as recipes.

So I’m creating the recipe for slightly Greek-inspired lamb balls, baked in a red sauce, along with goat cheese. The meat balls are gently seasoned with oregano, allspice, and a hint of cinnamon.

Lamb Balls in Red Sauce with Goat Cheese
Makes about 36 meatballs

Approximately 42 ounces favorite red sauce or simple Marinara
2 pounds ground lamb
3 eggs, mixed well
1/3 cup panko crumbs
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 medium onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Panko bread crumbs, approximately 1/2 cup
10-12 ounces soft goat cheese
Freshly chopped parsley, optional

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Pour the red sauce into a 9 x 13″ baking dish; set aside

In a medium bowl, mix together the lamb, egg, panko crumbs, parsley, salt, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, and pepper.

In a large skillet, (you’ll be using it for another purpose), sauté the onion over medium-low heat until soft. Stir in the garlic, then remove the skillet from the burner. Let the mixture cool, then add to the lamb mixture.

Using the same skillet, add approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Have a bowl of panko crumbs next to the meatball mixture. Form the lamb into medium-sized meatballs, I used a 1 1/2” scoop, roll in the bread crumbs, then sauté them in the skillet, about 8-10 at a time.


When the balls have browned well on all sides, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the skillet and place them in the baking dish with the red sauce. This should only take about 5 minutes over medium-high heat.

Repeat with remaining meatballs. If you have any bread crumbs leftover you can sprinkle them over the meatballs in the red sauce.

Bake the meatballs for approximately 20-25 minutes and remove the baking dish from the oven. Turn off the oven.

Add the goat cheese to the meatballs, adding a generous tablespoons interspersed amongst them, eturn the baking dish to the oven to allow the cheese to melt, approximately 10-15 minutes.


Before serving, sprinkle the lamb balls with freshly chopped parsley.


Serve directly from the baking dish, if desired, along with crusty bread.

Make sure there’s a generous amount of red sauce served with the lamb balls.

If desired, the meatballs and red sauce can be served over pasta or polenta, but today I used pasta.

The meatballs are tender, with a slight crunchy firmness on the outside.

The goat cheese is spectacular with the lamb and red sauce.

The crusty bread is a must!

Grits with Eggs and Red Sauce

67 Comments

Many years ago I came across a recipe for grits with eggs and a red sauce. It was similar to shakshuska, a Middle Eastern dish of baked eggs in red sauce, shown below, but with grits!

Shakshuka-Side-View-2-640x480

I never had grits until my husband and I visited Charleston, South Carolina, for business a long time ago. We ate at a lovely restaurant And I hesitantly ordered shrimp with grits. I think I assumed grits would be too “corny” for me, but they’re not. They’re lovely, and just as much fun to cook as risotto. Below are pumpkin grits I made last fall. So many variations are possible.
pol1
For grits, I prefer the coarse-grained variety, which do take longer to cook, but I prefer the texture. I’ve noticed that the words “polenta” and “grits” are both on the package now!

IMG_7068
There used to be much confusion about the difference, but there is no difference. To make it more complicated, grits and polenta are also cornmeal.

IMG_7113

Grits with Eggs in Red Sauce
Adapted from Baked Eggs in Creamy Polenta and Pepperoni Tomato Sauce

3 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup grits
Approximately 1/2 cup cream
Red Sauce
4 tablespooons butter
4 eggs
Goat or feta cheese, optional

Place the water and butter in a deep pot over high heat. When the water boils, add the grits.

Stir, and continue to stir, with the heat on medium. I always have about a cup of water handy to add to the grits as they thicken. It seems that more liquid is required than what is stated on the package recipe.

After about 10 minutes or so, when the grits have cooked about halfway, add cream. Continue to cook the grits, and add even more water if necessary.
IMG_7081

When you feel the grits aren’t thickening up anymore, set them aside.

Make the eggs sunny-side up, over-easy, poached, or soft-boiled. It’s your choice. I used 1 tablespoon of butter per egg and cooked them sunny-side up in a skillet. Add a little dab of butter right before they’re fully cooked.

To serve, spoon the grits into a pasta bowl.
IMG_7088
Place some heated red sauce over the grits and, using a spoon, form a hole in the middle.

IMG_7097

Then place the cooked egg in the hole along with any butter from the skillet.

IMG_7098

Crumble some goat cheese and sprinkle on top.
IMG_7141a

You can also add chopped chives or parsley.

IMG_7130a

It’s a wonderful and hearty breakfast, but I’d certainly eat this for dinner as well!
IMG_7116

If you wanted to bake the eggs in the grits, like in the original recipe, you must use an oven-proof serving dish or prepare all four servings in a skillet.
IMG_7135

But I would make sure that the grits are first on the runny side. They will thicken – especially in the oven.
IMG_7107

Spaghetti Squash

54 Comments

There’s a special place in my heart for spaghetti squash. I love all squashes, and my locally available winter squashes like butternut and acorn are great for stuffing or for soups. But spaghetti squash can be used like noodles! After cooking the squash, you use a fork to scrape out the strands of spaghetti, except they’re actually squash strands.

Now I have nothing against pasta, but of course a vegetable, even a starchy squash, will always be healthier, especially over traditional white pasta. Plus the texture is fun and different. It’s just an option. And you don’t need a spiralizer!

There are many ways to cook a spaghetti squash, but I’ll show you the one I now stick with because it’s foolproof.
IMG_4511

And I mostly love it served spaghetti and meatball style!

spagh

Baked Spaghetti Squash

1 large spaghetti squash
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a cleaver, cut the squash lengthwise in half. (My halves aren’t perfectly matched, but I am always concerned for my fingers when I’m wielding a cleaver!)


Remove all of the seeds from inside the squashes. Then place cut-side up in a baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

squash1

Cover with foil, and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. If you want the squash to brown a little, remove the foil from the pan and continue baking for about 15 minutes.

Let the squash cool, then scrape at the squash halves with a fork to free up the lovely spaghetti strands. That’s it!


Try spaghetti squash as you would spaghetti, or with a Puttanesca, or underneath grilled chicken and peppers.
IMG_4530

Or you can stuff the squash halves!


I prefer spaghetti squash used as noodles. You can stuff other squashes!