Rebecca Davis 12/29/20 Rebecca Davis 12/29/20

Quick(ish) Meat Sauce

This quick meat sauce achieves that slow-cooked depth of flavor with a little beef stock, tomato paste, and high heat. #meandthemoose #dinner #meatsaucerecipe #meatsauce #pasta #quickdinner

Meat sauces are usually long and slow affairs, but this version speeds things up with high heat and beef stock to mimic the flavor of a cooked-all-day sauce in a fraction of the time.

Take me to the sauce!

I love a great, long-simmered, deeply flavored, unctuous Bolognese more than almost anything. That falling apart meat with a hint of acidic tomatoes all clinging to some wide flat noodles with a sprinkle of salty, nutty parmesan? Swoon.

But realistically, we never have time to make one. Even during these quarantined weekends we need flexibility for when the children inevitably short circuit and need a change of scenery.

It’s hard to achieve that depth of flavor without the long, slow simmer, but I’ve tried! And I think succeeded! However, there’s a reason why I call this a “meat sauce” and not “Bolognese.” It’s not the original. But it is a delicious approximation in about an hour.

A couple of notes:

Use the leanest beef you can find. If you can’t get 90/10 or 85/15, use half of the amount of pork listed or leave it out entirely
This recipe is meant to be made mostly at high temperatures, but you’ll need to keep an eye on the sauce at every step to ensure that the liquids are evaporating fast enough, but that nothing is burning. We want the heat to caramelize and brown everything, but we don’t want anything to burn and turn bitter. You may have to do a significant amount of fiddling with the temperature throughout the cooking to speed things up or slow them down at intervals.
I list a range of amount of the tomato paste. I like it less tomato-y, but my husband likes it with a little more. The largest amount (6 oz) is one small can of tomato paste.

Quick (ish) meat sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 large stalk celery, finely minced (about ½ cup)
1 small carrot, finely minced (about ½ cup)
5 large garlic cloves, smashed
1 lb ground beef (90/10 if you can find it)
¼ lb ground pork or sausage, casings removed
1 tsp kosher salt
4-6 oz tomato paste (5-6½ tbsp)
¼ cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
Pepper to taste

Time: about 1 hour for the sauce and the pasta, mostly active
Yield: 3-4 cups of sauce, or enough for 1 lb of pasta

Heat a skillet over a medium flame. Add the oil and heat until the oil is shimmering and slips easily around the pan. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the veggies soften and begin to brown.

Add the garlic. Cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn.

Add the meat and turn the heat back up to medium if you turned it down earlier. Stir and chop up the meat with your spatula breaking it into small pieces while cooking until no pink remains, about 5 minutes.

Stop stirring and let the meat cook, undisturbed, until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. You should hear it sizzling and bubbling. If not, turn up the flame.

Add the tomato paste and wine and stir well to combine and deglaze the pan. Cook, stirring constantly, until the wine has evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add 1½ cup of beef broth and cook, stirring often, until it has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes. If the liquid isn’t evaporating fast enough, turn up the flame.

Add the final ½ cup of broth, turn the heat all the way down, and cover. Let simmer on the lowest heat while you cook your pasta.

Bring your water to a boil and cook the pasta according to its package directions. Stir the sauce every few minutes while the pasta cooks.

Combine and serve.

Rebecca Davis 10/2/18 Rebecca Davis 10/2/18

Chocolate hummus

I struggled with calling this recipe “hummus.” The only thing it has in common with actual hummus is chickpeas, but I wanted it to be clear that this spread is the same stuff you buy in the grocery store.

Even though it’s not really hummus, this spread is REALLY good. It’s a little sweet and very chocolate-y.

I started making my own chocolate hummus after being introduced to this magical concoction (seriously, how did I not know that chocolate hummus existed until about 2 months ago?) at my book club.

A couple of notes:
- Soak 4 dates, though you may not need them all. This dip tends to get sweeter as it sits in the fridge, so be careful about adding all four dates up front.
- If the dip doesn’t taste sweet enough after two dates, try adding another pinch of salt. The salt really brings out the sweetness and the chocolate, so you may not need additional sweetener.

Chocolate hummus

Time: about 20 minutes, all active
Yield:1.5 cups or about 14.5 ounces

1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained |
¼ cup cocoa powder
½ cup maple syrup
2-4 dates, soaked in boiling water for 5-10 minutes
¼ tsp salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp vanilla extract

Boil some water and pour over 4 dates. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, thoroughly rinse your chickpeas and dry them lightly with a dishtowel or paper towel. Add to a food processor.

Measure the other ingredients and add to the food processor. When the dates are soft, add 3 to the other ingredients and blend until very smooth, about 3-4 minutes.

Serve or store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Rebecca Davis 1/26/18 Rebecca Davis 1/26/18

Purple kale pesto

Use those gorgeous purple veggies at the store and sneak some extra veggies into your pasta tonight with this easy purple kale and basil pesto. Me & The Moose | Purple Kale and Basil Pesto #pesto #sauce #purple #basil #kale #dinnerrecipe #saucerecipe

Purple veggies are JUST. SO. PRETTY. Blend them into an equally gorgeous sauce that is fast, easy, and a perfect way to get more veggies into some comfort food.

Take me to the recipe!

I've been with my mom in the hospital for the past few days, hence the long pause in posting. I'll spare you the details, but it was pretty brutal for my mom and will continue to be a rough course of treatment in the coming weeks and months.

Seeing someone I love be so sick brings out competing urges in me. On the one hand, I want to be optimistic and wait to freak out until we see what happens in the next few weeks. On the other hand, I want to mentally prepare for the worst, or, as I usually do, talk about/worry about "the worst" as though somehow saying it out loud or thinking about it constantly will keep it at bay. Like the Scheherazade of cancer.

Anyway, as always, I can only control what I can control. I'll try my best to carry on and eat well and get veggies into my child and not let him watch all the television though I mostly want to curl into a ball and stare at the wall.

This pesto is so vibrant and delicious. And purple feels on brand for Valentine's day, no?

Though I'm always in favor of shortcuts in recipes and against dirtying unnecessary dishes, you really must blanch the kale before making this sauce. But I sometimes go straight from the pot to the food processor (shaking off the excess water in the process) and skip the post-blanch ice bath that is supposed to stop things from overcooking. I find that the blending does the trick and a little excess water doesn't hurt the mixture either.

I initially skipped the dairy in this pesto, but have since added it back in because, cheese. This is also a great way to get vegetables into your child since they're blended into the sauce. I find that the purple color is fascinating to small people and some of it comes out in the blanching water, turning it a gorgeous shade of lavender, which is also compelling to the wee ones. If nuts are a no-go for your kids' lunchboxes, try swapping in tiger nuts (they're not actually nuts) or pumpkin seeds for the cashews.

Purple kale pesto

Time: 10 minutes
Yield: about 3 cups

6 oz purple kale, stalks removed (1 large bunch)
1/2 cup basil, packed
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 large cloves garlic
½ cup roasted, unsalted cashews or other nuts/nut replacement
1/3 cup grated parmesan or other nutty, dry cheese
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Rinse the kale and rip the leaves from the stalks into large chunks. Put in the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. Give it a few stirs to ensure that all of the kale is submerged. Add directly to the blender or food processor.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until you've reached your desired consistency. If too thick, add more water or oil by the tsp to thin out.