If you’ve read any of these blog posts or come to my place for food, you’ll know that I rarely follow recipes even for baking and that I often try out random combinations on visitors and on my family. Sometimes this fails miserably, mostly it’s at least tolerable, and sometimes the results are just wonderful and worth keeping.
Now that I’m look for ways to replace poultry in my dinners without adding on more of the same red meat and pork options, I’ll finally start writing down and posting some recipes for regular meals, not just treats and snacks. Like my earliest baking posts, I’m short on photos and, frankly, short on directions so far, too. But it’s a start! This week, I stuck with beef, but a variant: lean ground veal. I used pasta as a vehicle, to stay in my comfort zone, and made a quick ragu that was hearty but also light enough for early summer.
If you’d like to give it a try, here’s a quick how-to:
Ingredients 1-2 pounds ground veal 4 raw carrots, peeled, sliced, and diced 1/2 yellow onion, peeled, sliced, and diced extra-virgin olive oil (for sauteing) fresh garlic to taste (I used 1 clove) fresh thyme to taste (I used 3 sprigs) red pepper flakes to taste 1 pound boxed dried pasta (I used macaroni to capture the ragu), cooked al dente and drained/ready to use. 1/2 can tomato paste, diluted with water until able to stir easily *optional: salt or seasoned salt to taste (or replace with pecorino cheese at the end if you aren't a dairy-free household) fresh basil Directions In a medium saucepan, saute the onions and carrots on medium heat in the olive oil until softened but not brown. Add the garlic and saute only briefly. Then move all ingredients to the side of the pan. Add the veal to the pan and stir to break up large pieces. Slowly incorporate the onion, garlic, and carrots into the veal. Sprinkle the mixture with the thyme and stir to incorporate. Add the tomato paste (I used just enough to lightly coat the veal, not enough to make a heavy ragu.) and red pepper flakes. Turn the heat to medium-low and stir until warmed. Add the cooked pasta to the veal mixture and coat the pasta with the ragu. Serve with extra red pepper flakes and some fresh basil. I’d like to add more fish and veggie/bean options down the road, but I think baby steps are called for right now. Next week, I’m trying loose sweet Italian sausage (lower fat for heart health than in casings, especially if you drain the cooked meat) in cannelloni shells. My thinking is that I can make enough to have leftovers for me on the days that my family eats chicken. If I have to eat pasta more days a week, I’m sure that I can suffer through it! ?
2 Comments
7/3/2017 06:56:36 am
Love the look of this and so simple too, may swap the veal out for another ingredient but loving...plus I have all the main ingredients in my larder #winner #freefromfridays
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Hi, I'm Nicole. ABOUT THE BLOG An apothecary is a person or a place. Either one implies healing and relates to pharmacy in its truest sense, as a source of treatment and advice. This blog is my way of uniting my pharmacy training with my efforts to provide a healthy and safe lifestyle for my family. In true apothecary form, I research and prescribe alternative ingredients that work just right in each specific recipe, and I would like to share the results with anyone who needs help making their own family’s kitchen allergy safe and heart healthy. Categories
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