JBug's Kitchen Antics: Pasta Purses with Meat Sauce

I love buying odd shaped pasta which was really just my excuse to pick up more of Trader Joe's Proscuitto filled pasta purses. I had every intention of sneaking them by Big Guy in an almost meatless meal by making a sauce of sundried tomatoes, garlic, white wine and pine nuts but I chickened out at the last minute. I wasn't quite up to hearing "where's da' meat" from you know who.

Instead I fashioned a meat sauce inspired by Biba Caggiano in her book Trattoria Cooking and when I say inspired, I mean just that. It's definitely not Biba's. Made with ground pork instead of veal and Italian sausage, white wine instead of red and tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and a touch of tomato paste instead of the canned imported plum tomatoes she calls for as well as lots and lots of dried herbs and spices, it kinda' left me wondering why on earth I entertained the possibility of making it any other way.

If you're not blessed with a Trader Joe's near by, by all means substitute another kind of pasta - rigatoni would be great or gnocchi or ravioli or elbow macaroni...whatever you wish.

It’s Not Biba’s Meat Sauce (from JBug’s Kitchen inspired by Biba Caggiano, Trattoria Cooking)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced

1/2 cup finely diced fennel

1 pound ground pork

1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or less depending on how you like heat)

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1 cup white wine

1 – 14 ounce can tomato sauce

1 – 14 ounce can diced tomatoes with juices

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, garlic, fennel and carrot and cook until vegetables are softened, stirring often. Add ground pork and cook, crumbling until meat is no longer pink. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes and season well with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Add white wine and cook for 1 minute until wine is slightly reduced. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until sauce is thickened to consistency you prefer (use a splatter screen to save on clean up time). Stir in half the parmesan cheese. Serve with pasta of your choice. Garnish with remaining parmesan.

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