Who doesn’t love a great pasta and meat sauce dish? Try this recipe once and it will certainly be your forevermore easy breezy meal. The selection of fresh oregano, sage and the compilation of spices like freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice gives it a brilliant elegance. The addition of red pepper flakes gives a bit of a Fra Diavolo kick (you can adjust your hotness). The quick and easy meat sauce can be used with any pasta; but I do love to use the bigger rigatoni because it just sucks up the sauce very well. This is one of our many favorite pasta dish. So I do hope you will try and salivate eating it as much as we do around here. Happy Cooking!
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Rigatoni Pasta in Spiced Beef Sauce
Ingredients
FOR THE PASTA:
- 12 ounces Rigatoni Pasta (1 box)
- Large pot of salted water for cooking the pasta
Spice Mix:
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt or kosher
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE MEAT SAUCE:
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic fresh crushed
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage finely chopped
- 1/4 cup scallions chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef I use grass fed beef
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher. Adjust for your diet
- 28 ounces Marinara sauce or sub your favorite sauce
- 2/3 cups Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
For this recipe, I usually bring a large pot of salted water to boil and I cook the pasta while the sauce is simmering.
FOR THE MEAT SAUCE:
- Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a non stick deep pan. Use medium heat.
- Sauté the onions for 2 minutes.
- Combine the spice mix ingredients. Add the spice mix to the sautéed onions and cook 30 to 60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the garlic, oregano, sage and scallions. Sauté 30 to 60 seconds.
- Add the ground beef and season with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher. Mix and use the back of the spoon to break up the meat. Cook 4 to 5 minutes until the meat is no longer pink.
- Pour in the Marinara sauce. Stir. Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer on medium low heat for 15 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering. Cook the pasta.
- Cook the pasta according to package direction. But, cook 2 minutes less than the al dente direction. Drain.
Bring it all together
- Drain the pasta and add it into the meat sauce. Stir. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes until pasta is fully cooked to perfect al dente.Note: Allowing the pasta to cook in the sauce for a few minutes helps it to absorb the pungent flavors.
- Turn off the stove. Sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese. Stir until cheese is fully melted.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with shaved or grated parmesan cheesse. Serve immediately. Enjoy
Notes
Nutrition
