A Saucy Pasta Day

At Pranzo or lunch today, my special someone and I prepared our traditional pasta with thick tomato sauce. This is the original recipe of mamma who has stayed with her restaurant in the city for at least six years when she was still young. Everytime mamma prepares this sauce, I can smell the delicious taste of the upcoming lunch. And yes, Italians are fund of these thick tomato sauces and you will have a look how it is done. I'm gonna share with you my lunch preparation for today.

Step One: Prepare the beef cuts. I prefer the one with bones but with thick meat around. It is around 2 inches by 3 inches in dimension. Please don't tell it's a bit big because it would shrink later.

Step Two: Saute the thawed beef cuts into oil (we use olive here) and sliced onion. To add more taste, you may add a vinegar to make it more sour. We uses Aceto Balsamico but this is optional. Let the outer side (exposed portion) of the meat go brown by flipping the cuts from time to time while sauteing.





































Step Three : When all the beef go brown, add the tomato sauce diluted in water. (The photo shows the vinegar brand and the tomatoe sauce we used. The bottle of sauce can be used twice or thrice depending on the amount of sauce to be made).

Step Four: Let the sauce boil and thicken. At start, the boiler is eighty five (85%) percent full but when it is ready, only around ten percent (10%) filled. See the photos.

Step Five: At the meantime, prepare the table. Don't forget the wine and fruits of course. The table napkins and cuttleries must be ready. So are the glasses and plates.

Step Six: When the sauce is fifteen minutes away to finish, boil the water for pasta. Today we used Rigatoni. You may use your preferred brand and kind of pasta. For me, Fussili is the best and we always buy the Barilla brand.

Step Seven: When the water is boiling, put the salt and the pasta to reach the "al dente" (to the tooth) point. At the same time the pasta is cooked, the sauce is also ready. However, while waiting for the pasta and the sauce, prepare the formaggio (cheese). It must be grated.

Step Eight: When all are cooked, drain the pasta, put in the plate, put the sauce, sprinkle with cheese, then, the layer of sauce again. Leave the meat for "Anti-pasto"or the second course. It is eaten after the pasta. Fill the glasses with wine and "Salute" (cheers).. Mangiamo! (Let's eat!)