Рецепт Chorizo Bolognese with Buffalo Mozzarella
A
classic Bolognese sauce takes hours on the stove where the sweetness of
tomatoes, onions, celery and carrots blend with beef, and pork to come together
in one of Italy’s most treasured sauces.
In Italian American houses, it is called “Sunday Sauce” because the bulk
of the day is spent creating family versions of Bolognese. The sauce is then
served over perfectly cooked pasta where it is topped with the tart taste of
grated Parmesan cheese. So when I came
across a recipe that claimed you could have a version of Bolognese on the table
in 15 minutes…15 minutes!, to say the least, I was intrigued. What I ended up
with in this cheater’s “Bolognese”, was a supremely rich, aromatic and slightly
spicy sauce complemented by the extra creaminess of Buffalo Mozzarella. The
Buffalo in question is a Water Buffalo and the cheese produced from its milk
makes plain old Mozzarella amazingly bland in comparison. This is a perfect meal for a weeknight and
especially perfect given a staggering statistic I read recently: the average
American is now spending all of 27 minutes a day preparing the food we eat.
You
might think, given the extraordinary rise in interest in food and cooking, that
we would be spending more time in the kitchen. But absolutely everything has
conspired to cut that time down to a bare minimum. In his fascinating book “Cooked” (Penguin
2014) Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, comes down hard on our
‘fast food’ nation. He points out that
in 1965, we spent 60 minutes a day on food preparation. And not only that, we cook less than any
other country on earth. Pollan’s goal is
to change that and intrigue us with how much slower cooking can add—not
subtract-- from our day. But until he convinces us all of that premise, it
seems to me that if you are going to limit your time in the kitchen, you might
as well cook something as savory and satisfying at this Chorizo sausage-based
Bolognese.
The author this recipe is Donna Hay,
certainly Australia’s most renowned food editor and cookbook author. Ms. Hay, who started her career as a food
stylist and writer at age 19, has a
publications called “Donna Hay Magazine” and it’s from there that this recipe
came. Using Chorizo is a stroke of
genius because this Spanish sausage packs a wallop of flavor from being
fermented, cured and smoked. Its smoky flavor comes from pimenton, Spain’s dried smoked red pepper. There’s no substituting fresh Mexican chorizo
in this recipe, it has to be the genuine article.
I took a liberty with Ms.
Hay’s recipe, sautéing a red onion for sweetness before cooking the sausage in
the same pan. The Chorizo itself is
broken down in the food processor to a consistency of ground beef, for which it
is, after all, a substitute. Combined
with chili flakes, garlic, salt and pepper it cooks very quickly. Some wine,
tomatoes and sugar round out the ingredients. In all honesty, I think you’d
have to be far more well-organized in the kitchen than I am to pull this off in
15 minutes but I had absolutely no trouble in getting on the table in 30
minutes. If you do want to make this in the fastest time possible, you should
have your pasta water at a rolling boil and cook the fettucine or tagliatelle
while the sauce is in its final, six minute reduction. Plate the pasta, ladle the sauce over it and
break the Buffalo Mozzarella into pieces and put the pieces atop and to one
side of the pasta. Dinner is served in
under a half an hour. Here is the recipe:
Donna
Hay’s Chorizo Bolognese with Buffalo Mozzarella
Takes as little as 15 minutes to make. Serves 4 and can easily be halved.
- 1 pound dried chorizo, chopped
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 pound tagliatelle or linguine
- 9 ounces buffalo mozzarella, torn
1. Place the chorizo in a food processor
and process until finely chopped. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over
moderate heat. Add the red onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until it is soft,
not browned.
3. Add the chorizo, chili flakes, garlic,
salt and pepper to the pan and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes or until golden
and crispy. Add the wine and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and sugar
and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, cover with a lid and cook for
5–6 minutes or until the liquid has slightly reduced.
While the chorizo mixture is cooking,
cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water for 6–8 minutes or until
al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
Add the reserved cooking liquid to the
chorizo mixture and stir to combine.
4. Top the pasta with the chorizo mixture,
mozzarella, and freshly ground pepper and serve.