52 Meals: Scarpetta's Spaghetti

52 Meals, is a weekly Sunday dinner challenge. Each Monday I'll be sharing our Sunday dinner, complete with pictures, recipes, and tips for making cooking at home fun and easy. 
This week's meal: Scarpetti's Spaghetti. 

Inspired by: Spring! We wanted something light and fresh, but I was also really in the mood for Italian. This light and quick spaghetti dish is the perfect antithesis to last week's all-day cook-fest: Sunday Ragu. 
The secret: This is a simple dish, so it's vital to use the best ingredients you can get your hands on. Add the basil-garlic oil at the table just before serving. 

The Recipe:

Tomato-Basil Sauce

28-ounce can of organic tomatoes (I use Whole Foods 365 diced tomatoes for everything) 
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of crushed red chili pepper flakes
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 lb spaghetti (use a high quality organic -- Trader Joe's makes an awesome organic pasta)
1/2 cup of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (get the real stuff for this) 

5/6 fresh basil leaves

2 tbsp butter

For the Basil-Garlic Oil:1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
8-10 garlic cloves, crushed
10/12 fresh basil leaves
Crushed red chili pepper flakes (about a heavy pinch)

Cook the Basil-Garlic oil first. Add all ingredients to a saucepan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside for 30 minutes to cool. Strain the solids out, leaving the flavored oil. 

Cook the sauce: Add 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to a heavy pot, heat until just before the smoke point. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and red chili pepper flakes. Lower the heat and cook the tomatoes until most of the moisture has been removed. 

While the sauce is cooking; boil a large pot of water. Cook the pasta al dente and drain. Add the cooked pasta and the two tbsp butter to the tomato sauce. Cook on low heat for 1 minute, mixing to combine. 

Plate the pasta, drizzle the hot oil on top, sprinkle parmigiana-reggiano and cracked black pepper on top. 

Tips: 

• Use good ingredients!
• Serve with a simple protein like grilled or breaded chicken, pork, or sausage. 
• This is a great vegetarian meal. Make it vegan by eliminating the butter and cheese. 

The Verdict: This is super addictive. Its one of those things that has no business being as good as it is. It's a great quick meal and a great crowd pleaser. It's also a fantastic weeknight meal! 

Time in the Kitchen: 45 Minutes total

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

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52 Meals #2: Sunday Ragu

52 Meals, is a weekly Sunday dinner challenge. Each Monday I'll be sharing our Sunday dinner, complete with pictures, recipes, and tips for making cooking at home fun and easy. 

This week's meal: Sunday Ragu was inspired by our trip last weekend to Brooklyn's Smorgasburg and specifically the first vendor we hit up: Sunday Gravy. 

This meal is a labor of love and will feed an army. It's an all-day cook fest with at least three hours of active prep and three more hours of inactive time; but the result is totally worth it. One of the best parts of this meal is that you can use up whatever meat that you might have in your fridge or freezer. The recipe below is a great starting point, but feel free to substitute in whatever you have.

TIP: Make sure to use at least some meat that's still on the bone for depth of flavor. 

Sunday Ragu

Sauce

1 3/4 lb St. Louis Style pork ribs

2 lbs assorted italian sausage (hot, sweet, hot chicken are what I used)

2 medium onions, diced

5 garlic cloves, minced.

3 28oz cans of organic tomatoes (WF 365 diced tomatoes are my staple)

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Fresh Basil

Brown all the meat (in batches) and then set on a platter.

Add onions and scrape up all brown bits. Cook until onions are softened.

Add minced garlic, cook until garlic is fragrant.

Add tomatoes (I milled half of the tomatoes for a smoother sauce). 
Cook for five minutes and then add all the meat back in.
Let sauce cook for several hours until desired flavor is reached.

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (mix of beef/pork or beef/pork/veal would work too)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese

1 egg

1 tbsp heavy cream

salt

pepper

Mix everything together and form into meatballs. Brown on all sides. Let the meatballs fully cook in the ragu.

The Verdict: super delicious. Jeff said it was the best thing I've ever made (but he says that about a lot of stuff). A long day of cooking but totally worth it, especially when you take into account the massive leftovers that can be turned into other great meals during the week (lasagne and meatball

parm sandwiches come to mind).

Time in the Kitchen: a lot. 3+ hours of prep & active cook time and 3+ hours inactive cook time.

Servings: about 16.

Difficulty: 3 out of 5

Tips & Tricks

• Serve with crunchy Garlic Bread
• Freeze half of the ragu. Use within 6 months.
• Add parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano cheese to the top
• Use leftovers for lots of other great meals like Lasagne, Meatball Parm Sandwiches, Baked Ziti, or anything else that calls for a good meat sauce.

If you have any questions at all, leave a comment below and I'll make sure to answer as quickly as possible.  

Follow along during the week on twitter & instagram; I'll be using the hashtag #52Meals to corral all my photos in one place. 

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