Maccheroni with Meat Sauce

Name: Maccheroni with Meat Sauce
Yield: makes about 6 cups, enough for 2 pounds of maccheroni alla chitarra or other pasta
Ingredients: 1 cup onion cut in 1-inch chunks; 1 cup carrot cut in 1-inch chunks; 1 cup celery cut in 1-inch chunks; 2 pounds ground pork butt, freshly ground preferred (see box, page 251); 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste; 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh; 1 cup dry white wine; 3 cups (one 28-ounce can) canned Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand; 4 cups hot chicken, turkey, or vegetable stock or hot water, plus more if needed; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (about 12 large leaves); 1 batch (1 pound) Homemade Maccheroni alla Chitarra (page 236) or other pasta; 1 cup freshly grated pecorino (or half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano, for a milder flavor), plus more for passing; Extra-virgin olive oil, best-quality, for serving; A food processor; a heavy saucepan, such as enameled cast iron, 10-inch diameter or wider, 4-quart capacity, with a cover, for cooking the meat sauce; a large pot, 8-quart capacity, for cooking the pasta; a heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 12-inch diameter or wider, for dressing the pasta

December 9, 2011

I love ground-meat sauces that cook slowly for hours, allowing an exchange of flavors between the meat, cooking liquids, and seasonings and concentrating them into a dense, delicious dressing. Emilia-Romagna is famous for such sauces, the classic Ragù alla Bolognese (page 382) and Ragù di Carni Bianche (page 137) among them. This Abruzzese sauce is quite similar in its procedures, though it uses only pork rather than a mixture of ground meats. It also has some of the typical flavoring touches of the region, notably a generous dash of peperoncino and a greater volume of tomatoes, rendering it a bit more acidic and definitely more lively than a conventional, mellow Bolognese. It’s a great dressing for homemade maccheroni alla chitarra, and wonderful with other pastas, too. At home, whenever I’m preparing a dish like this that takes a long time—and yields such delicious results—I make more of it than I need for one occasion. Another great, effortless meal is a good reward for the hours and effort devoted to cooking the sauce. That’s why I have formulated this recipe to yield enough ragù to dress a pound of maccheroni or other pasta on the day it is cooked, with an equal amount to pack away in the freezer.

Recipe notes