pasta Archives | butter loves company

braised short rib pasta sauce (short rib ragu)

October 3, 2019 by Butter Loves Company

This braised short rib pasta sauce is made with hearty fresh veggies and rich red wine. The ribs are slow-cooked until they fall off the bone. The cooking liquid is strained to create a deeply decadent and silky sauce. Toss it with some pasta (homemade, if you have it) and hunker down on the couch.

By popular demand, I’m sharing one of my favorite meals I’ve made in a while: braised short rib pasta sauce. Save this for heartwarming, soul-satisfying weekend cooking throughout the Fall and Winter months. Meaty and rich short ribs cook down in a flavor-packed combination of veggies and red wine. The veggies and wine (along with some parsley) will be the base of the sauce, and we’ll strain it so there is no need to be meticulous with chopping.

After hours in the oven, the short rib meat is fall-off-the-bone fork tender and the braising liquid has reduced to concentrate the flavors even further. We’ll remove the meat from the pot and then strain the liquid into a separate pot where you’ll finish the dish. The strained liquid is your silky, meaty, tomato-y sauce. Into that goes all of our short rib meat, deboned and shredded.

Finally, toss all of that goodness with some al dente pasta and you have a short rib ragu that will feel like a hug. Do not skip grated Parmesan to finish it off! So luxurious. I can’t wait to make this short rib pasta for the rest of the winter.

Braising Short Ribs for Pasta

You can find short ribs at the grocery store more often during the Winter months. They may have boneless or bone-in. Bone-in is preferred for this as it helps generate a thicker sauce and keeps the meat together-ish while it is cooking in the oven. It is important to brown the short ribs first as it helps to seal in the fat.

If you make this recipe, please let me know by sharing on Instagram and tagging me @butterlovescompany! I would love to see what you think, and drool over it!

Xo,
Jenna

If you’re looking for other good winter meals, might I suggest:

Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel

Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sweet Potato

braised short rib pasta sauce pappardelle

butternut squash alfredo

September 4, 2019 by Butter Loves Company

This post has been sponsored by Ronzoni SuperGreens® Pasta. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

You all know how much I love pasta, which is why I’m super pumped about today’s recipe. We’re taking all the luxurious creaminess of a traditional alfredo sauce and giving it a fall-forward veggie twist by using butternut squash in the sauce, plus a green spaghetti!

This Butternut Squash Alfredo uses Ronzoni SuperGreens® Thin Spaghetti from ACME Markets. The pasta is packed with greens as it is made with spinach, zucchini, broccoli, parsley, and kale. So, not only are we making the sauce a little more nutritious by using squash in place of the heavy cream and cheese you often find in alfredo but we’re also getting an excellent dose of veggies within the pasta itself.

The butternut squash alfredo sauce can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week (or frozen for about a month), making it perfect for weekday meals for the family. I love that the pasta is a good source of fiber, vitamin A, thiamin, folate, iron, and riboflavin. I’m always looking for more ways to get iron into our diets, so finding out I could do that by twirling this pasta was quite the pleasant surprise!

The sauce has a slight sweetness from the squash and warmth from a dash of nutmeg, which is perfect for the autumn season. It’s balanced by the saltiness of some grated Parmesan and the welcome earthiness of the Ronzoni SuperGreens® Thin Spaghetti. I added shrimp for a little protein, but you could also omit or swap with ground turkey or chicken if you prefer. Just be sure to cook your protein fully before combining with the sauce and spaghetti.

The pasta can be found at your local ACME in the pasta aisle (it’s the only major green pasta made with 5 green vegetables on the market today), and be sure to check out the ACME mobile app in case there are any coupons or deals on your other ingredients!

I can’t wait to eat this butternut squash alfredo pasta throughout the fall and winter months. Prime pasta months if you ask me!

Xo,

Jenna

Save now at your local ACME!

rigatoni with sausage and fennel

February 16, 2017 by Butter Loves Company

This Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel is just the hearty meal you need to comfort you after a long day. I recently made this dish as part of Tasting Table’s cookbook club (Thanks to the lovely Evi of Ev’s Eats for inspiring me to join!). The January book—which I got this recipe from—was Ina Garten’s Cooking for Jeffrey: a compilation of great recipes inspired by cooking for the ones you love.

This is an adaptation of what became one of the most popular recipes for the group to make. I ended up making a few ingredient swaps based on what we had in the pantry at the time and loved the results. Whenever I see a recipe using Italian sausage, I pretty much always include hot Italian sausage just because my personal “Jeffrey” loves spice. As do I. Not feeling sausage? This would be great with mushrooms as a ‘meaty’ vegetarian alternative.

The tenderness and light licorice essence of the fennel balances the creamy sauce, acidic tomatoes, and meatiness, heat, saltiness of the sausage. Of course, there’s also the crispy cheesy bits you get on the tops of the baked pasta—swoon!

While you could substitute any pasta for the rigatoni, I’d highly recommend the little tubes as they perfectly capture little chunks of sausage in their centers resulting in extra-delicious bites. Supergreg doesn’t care for fennel and cleaned his bowl(s) so if you’re hesitant about the fennel, I urge you not to let it stop you!

This makes a lot of pasta, which was fine because you’ll want to heat up leftovers throughout the week when you just can’t think about cooking dinner.

cacio e pepe

April 5, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

A simple, cheesy, creamy, peppery Roman pasta dish on your table in 20 minutes.

I would rather clean the bathroom than do a load of laundry. Call me crazy, but it’s true! I hope fellow Laundromat goers can relate.

Luckily for me, my super cool roommate (boyfriend) is a laundry fanatic. At this point, I’ve been banned from doing said roommates laundry because of my “poor technique.” Even just last night, I attempted to help fold some shirts from the mountain of warm, clean clothes, only to catch my fold jobs being refolded at the turn of my head *ahem*.

So, to thank my resident laundry-pro for his hard work—and as an attempted peace offering for leaving chap stick in a pants pocket that went through last week’s wash *gulp*—I wanted to make a tasty weeknight dinner that he could enjoy.

He is a big pepper person, so if you are too, you will love this simple, cheesy, peppery Roman pasta dish.

Even non-pepper people will love this. Hey, even picky kids would probably love this as a take on mac and cheese.

Called Cacio e Pepe, literally meaning cheese and pepper in Italian, this minimalist pasta dish is so great because it is made with just 6 ingredients and its deliciousness is on your table in 15–20 minutes. Like I often do, I read a Shaq-sized handful of recipes for Cacio e Pepe before making it myself. The key to this creamy, cheesy, peppery-spiced pasta is in the technique. You’ll heat the pepper in a small bit of oil first to help develop its flavor. You’ll use the starchy pasta water to make the sauce; coupling it with a little bit of butter and a generous portion of finely grated, sharp Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. I used fresh bucatini because there is a fabulous fresh pasta shop near my apartment, but feel free to use dry. If you can find it, I strongly recommend bucatini (spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the center). I served it with some simple sautéed kale to make myself feel better. I mean, we did just have this cake.

The result is a restaurant quality dish that even the busiest novice home cook can master and impress with.

I loved this so much I made it two days in a row because I was so excited to share it with you.

cacio e pepe

Author: Adapted from Maialino via The Family Table Cookbook

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: Makes 2 main servings or 4 starter courses. Recipe can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon table salt
½ pound pasta (any shape you like, though long spaghetti-like pasta works great.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ tablespoon medium-course fresh ground black pepper (if you don’t really like pepper, reduce to 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus ¼ cup extra for garnishing

Instructions

Bring 6 cups water and the salt to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add the pasta, stir, and cook until just al dente; the pasta will be reheated for a minute or two later on (keep in mind, when using fresh pasta cook time will be a few minutes shorter than dry).
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper and warm for 1 to 2 minutes to release its flavor. Ladle ⅔ cup of the pasta cooking water into the skillet with the pepper and remove the pan from heat.
When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the pepper/pasta water skillet. Return the pan to medium-high heat, add the butter, and cook, stirring constantly until the butter has melted completely. Remove from heat and gradually sprinkle the cheese over the pasta, stirring the pan until the cheese is fully incorporated and forms a creamy sauce. Taste the sauce and add more pepper if you’d like.
Serve immediately topped with the remaining grated cheese.

baked pasta with broccoli rabe and sweet potato

January 29, 2014 by Butter Loves Company

I like Boston seasons. Snow is so pretty. Winter isn’t too long…

My brain has been trying to convince my body all of these things are true as I shiver through layers of blankets with my hood up and cinched. The unpredictable temperature is taking its toll.

Much to our frustration, we haven’t been able to seek refuge from the cold within the ~500 sq. ft. of our apartment: old building + broken heaters + -10 degree weather outside = 40 degree weather inside. Because of this, I’ve been craving every warm food that fits into the “comfort food” category; a category that baked pasta certainly is part of. I’ve started relying on baked pasta as a meal that re-heats well throughout a busy week (and as a way to warm me up when no more layers will do!).

My current recipe of choice, adapted from The Smitten Kitchen, has just the right combination of gooey, creamy pasta on the bottom and crispy, cheesy burnt bits on top. Greg and I both go directly for the burnt bits. I try making myself feel better about the heavier béchamel base by always adding different vegetable combinations. Broccoli’s slightly bitter brother, broccoli rabe, is a great choice because it holds up pretty well to cooking. It also has a nicely contrasting flavor to sweet additions like yam or butternut squash. If you can’t find broccoli rabe, regular broccoli works just fine. Every time I make this I use a combination of sweet and hot Italian sausage. I find a touch of spice is well received.

The Smitten Kitchen recipe suggests multiplying the cheese and béchamel by 1 ½ if you prefer your baked pasta creamier. To me, this one is just perfect.

I’ll continue it to make through the rest of winter, even with our new working heaters!

Pouring the béchamel on the pasta is the best part. So is saying béchamel.

baked pasta with broccoli rabe and sweet potato

Recipe Type: Dinner

Author: adapted from The Smitten Kitchen

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 10 mins

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

Pasta and assembly—
1 pound chunky pasta of your choice (I prefer anything that sauce can sneak into)
1 bundle broccoli rabe, stems and leaves cut into 1-inch segments
1 cups diced sweet potato or yam (1 large potato peeled and diced into ¾ inch cubes)
1 pound Italian sausage (sweet or spicy pork or chicken), casings removed
2/3 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
6 ounces mozzarella, cut into small cubes
Bechamel—
2 cups milk, full fat is ideal (I used 2%)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
Few gratings fresh nutmeg

Instructions

Cook the pasta, rabe, and yam: Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and five minutes before its cooking time is up, add the broccoli rabe and sweet potato. It will seem like too much for the water, but with a stir or two, the rabe should wilt and cook alongside the pasta. Drain the broccoli rate, sweet potato and pasta together and place in a large bowl.
Cook your sausage: Meanwhile, heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, wide saucepan (you will use this for the bechamel in a few minutes; you could also use your pasta pot, once it is drained) over medium heat. When hot, add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown, about five minutes. Remove with slotted spoon or spatula, leaving any fat behind. Eyeball the drippings (pork sausage will leave some; chicken usually does not) — use one tablespoon less butter next if it looks like there’s a tablespoon there. Any less, don’t worry about adjusting the butter.
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Make the bechamel: Melt your butter in same saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add your flour and stir it into the butter until smooth. Cook the mixture together for a minute, stirring constantly. Pour in a small drizzle of your milk, whisking constantly into the butter-flour mixture until smooth. Continue to drizzle a very small amount at a time, whisking constantly. Once you’ve added a little over half of your milk, you’ll find that you have more of a thick sauce or batter, and you can start adding the milk in larger splashes, being sure to keep mixing. Once all of the milk is added, add the salt, garlic, nutmeg, and few grinds of black pepper, and bring the mixture to a lower simmer and cook it, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
Assemble and bake: Add the sausage and bechamel to the bowl with the pasta, broccoli rabe, and sweet potato. Stir in mozzarella and half of grated parmesan or pecorino until combined. Pour into a deep 9×13-inch baking dish or 3-quart casserole dish and coat with remaining parmesan or pecorino. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the edges are nicely bronzed.
Eat warm. Reheat as needed