Placing collectively a lazy, carb-laden meal on a Sunday night is my modus operandi. Generally it’s a grilled cheese sandwich filled with pickled jalapenos; different instances I am going the shrimp and instantaneous grits route. Some nights all I can muster is a pile of buttered Pop-Tarts. However nothing is as strong a play as pasta. This tried-and-true starch-plus-sauce mixture works like a appeal to calm the customarily woeful vibes of a Sunday evening, and likewise checks all of the containers for simplicity, affordability, and unbeatable versatility.
Recently, my Sunday dinner of alternative has come from the cavatappi al sugo recipe discovered on the again of Ronzoni’s cavatappi field. Translated as cavatappi with sauce, it’s a reminder that magic will be made within the kitchen in a surprisingly quick time.
The substances will be simply present in your pantry or the forgotten corners of the crisper drawer. Carrots, onions, and celery create the sauce’s taste base — and for those who’re out of the recent stuff you’ll be able to simply substitute a canned or frozen vegetable medley. Canned tomatoes are vital, and whereas the recipe requires the crushed selection, I’ve used diced, pureed, and entire peeled with related success. Floor beef can be important, together with garlic and primary seasonings. It is very important notice that I incorporate 3 times the quantity of garlic that’s referred to as for; the extraordinary aroma helps me really feel like I’m doing one thing connoisseur, and greater than that, I’m only a garlic particular person.
Step one is including the mirepoix combination and garlic to a well-oiled skillet and cooking it for at the very least 5 minutes. Whereas the greens soften, there’s an abundance of room for creativity. In case your spice rack is scant, maintain it simple with simply oregano. But when inspiration calls, add thyme, basil, or crimson pepper flakes for a extra subtle end. Whichever path you select, incorporate the meat and tomatoes after the greens and aromatics change into tender. Should you’re like me and also you take pleasure in a bottle of crimson because the weekend involves an in depth, be at liberty to pour ⅓ to ½ cup of the wine into the sauce at this level — I’m a fan of an inexpensive however substantial cabernet sauvignon or spicy zinfandel. Fifteen minutes of needed simmering time is the proper alternative to show your consideration to boiling noodles and setting them apart.
Cavatappi’s quick corkscrew form is each visually interesting and environment friendly. The house in between twists completely captures sauce and its accompaniments. Think about a mountain of springy pasta coated in a wealthy blanket of uber-savory tomatoes and succulent beef; that’s the fail-safe outcome that retains me coming again. And the house for substitutions is infinite — for those who’re working with floor pork and a barely totally different set of greens, you’ll be able to nonetheless assemble an exquisite meal with the same taste profile. Somebody new to Italian delicacies, and even cooking on the whole, can simply grasp the method and department out to their coronary heart’s want. I’m personally loyal to cavatappi (also called cellentani), however you can simply swap it for elbow macaroni or rigatoni in a pinch.
The completed sauce is the true star of the present; it clings to each crevice with its hearty, aromatic presence. Each time I make it, I get a comfortable feeling that’s simply sufficient to overcome the Sunday Scaries. After I wish to beat my end-of-weekend dread, I can depend on a glass of wine and bowl of saucy pasta buried in Parmesan to do the trick.
Rai Mincey is a meals author and baking fanatic whose focuses embody culinary historical past, seasonal cooking, and Southern delicacies. She splits her time between Birmingham, Alabama, and Tulum, Mexico.
Further photograph illustration credit: pasta photograph by Rai Mincey
