Friday, April 10, 2009

Rigatoni Bolognese with olives and chiles


It's been so hard to muster the energy or interest to cook, what with fatigue and nausea running the show. Pasta with red sauce seems to be accepted without a hitch, and requires nearly no effort, particularly when I have one last, treasured jar of homemade Bolognese from the homegrown heirloom tomatoes of last summer, canned with homeground beef chuck and fresh herbs. This last jar of sunshine was the end of an era.

This bastard lovechild between puttanesca ("the whore's") and Bolognese came from my need to taste red sauce with a little bit of saline fattiness of olives and the protein punch of beef. Chile flake (Korean, for flavor in addition to moderate heat) kicked it to a high hum.


Lots of grated parmesan and crusty bread to swab out the last smear of sauce is a no-brainer.

25 comments:

Dewi said...

Sounds really delicious, nothing beat home canned tomato sauce. Although, I never done that myself, but have tasted once given by a friend.
Hope everything is well with your pregnancy.
Cheers,
elra

Maggie said...

Love the olives in it. I always add them when Matt is out of town because somehow he doesn't like them...Yum.

Btw, tried a spin on your cornmeal grilled cheese idea last night. Hot stuff. Will post soon.

Choosy Beggar Tina said...

It's April! Tomato season will be starting again soon enough, and you can replenish the pantry.

Puttanesca is one of my favorite sauces SPECIFICALLY because I can say to Mike, "Hey, want some hooker noodles for dinner?" That's good stuff.

Unknown said...

Wow! I haven't checked your blog in a while. Congratulations on your pregnancy! Hopefully the nausea will pass soon :)

Your pictures always make my stomach grumble.

Melissa

Sophie said...

I really like your writing style -- haha, haven't been able to laugh while reading a food blog in awhile. Yummy pasta is definitely the meal to make when you're not feeling great, I'm so jealous that you ground your own beef! Hope the morning sickness passes soon!

Lo said...

No brainer indeed. There are great flavors rolling around in here. Love the briney/spicey combo. Just perfect.

One question: Garlic bread??

Alicia Foodycat said...

Very comforting. I hope the nausea subsides for long enough for you to get your tomatoes planted for this year.

A warning - apparently when I was being breastfed my mum couldn't eat anything with garlic in it, or I'd get sick. So I recommend loading up for the next 9 months just in case!

Anonymous said...

Simple and delicious. So tasty.

Brooke said...

Yum. A big fat plate of pasta covered in cheese would really hit the spot right about now. Only I'd toss some major fungus in there too. I love mushrooms with red sauce.

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

Great idea to mix the bolognese with olives ans chiles. I thought for sure you'd be eating pickles with ice cream!

Manggy said...

Hah, and I thought you canned the bolognese with the gochujang :) Whenever I spike my sauces with a Thai chili, my grandmother goes, "Ah! It's spicy!" And I'm all, "So? Is it good?" (I'm quite rude, aren't I?)

Zora said...

Man, I turn my back for a couple of weeks and you go and get knocked up! Congratulations!

Jen said...

This looks absolutely delicious. We've been doing a lot of pasta lately - both economically and in terms of ease.

Leigh said...

make no excuses, the simplest pastas are usually the best. And Congrats with the baby - hope all is well. Take Care of yo' bad self!! no more of that good Portland beer!

Peter M said...

You're holding up fine my dear. Live your prego-life and if you're not up to it...we'll be here waiting for ya - promise.

Jude said...

Just realized that I can click on your photos and get a supersized version on my screen. Blogger shoudl come with a manual.

Darius T. Williams said...

I love swabbing...I bet those olives made this DELISH!

Heather said...

Elra - It's definitely worth growing extra tomatoes to can.

Mags! - Ooh! Glad you tried it. Can't wait to see.

Tina - April? Tomato season won't be until July or August around these parts. :P

Melissa - Thanks! The nausea is improving already.

Sophie - The meat grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid stand mixer is really great.

Lo - Yes, that's what this needed, for sure.

Alicia - It always surprises me what infants can't tolerate, then grow to love.

Chrystal - Simple is usually best!

Brookie - Mushrooms would have been nice, but would have required work. :P

Petah - Not yet! Though peppermint bark ice cream has gotten me through a bit of ick a few times.

Marky - I did! It makes it so sticky and umamiful. I wonder why old(er) people hate spicy things?

Zora - Thanks! Yes, it looks like I will meet my biological directive.

Jen - Pasta really is so easy. And even if you spring for the good stuff (like $3 or 4), it's still a bargain.

Leigh - No beers for me! I've been digging the Reed's ginger beer though.

El Greco - My energy should return in a few weeks, just in time for summer.

Jude - Gah, then you'll see how crappy they are! :D

Darius - The olives were a little sumpin' sumpin'.

peter said...

The second trimester should be better; it'll be all eating all the time.

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

Ooh..it must have been tough using up that last jar. It's like the extra quarts of ice cream I buy before my favorite ice cream place shuts down for the winter. I want to make it last forever...or at least until it's ice cream season again. I guess you can't take it with you, so you had to use it at some point. Nice clever recipe.

When will we see the pickle and ice cream recipes?

matt wright said...

YUM.

Emily said...

CONGRATS! I'm so happy for you. Sorry I'm commenting late.

And your pasta looks delicious.

The Spiteful Chef said...

Why does everyone think pregnant people eat pickles and ice cream? I'm fairly certain I won't. Congratulations, BTW. Try to have a sarcastic baby. The world needs more of you.

Traci said...

Don't worry - that super sleepy phase doesn't last forever! I remember it though, and it's tough. I used to hit the wall at around noon, and I was going down one way or another -- if I didn't lay down, I'd fall down.

You'll pep back up. Just relax, take lots of naps, order take-out and enjoy your peaceful house, because pretty soon it will be gone FOREVER. Seriously. I'm not kidding.

Love the spicy part of the pasta (and the olives - one of my favorites!)

cookiecrumb said...

Never having been in a baby way, I'm impressed and so happy to read about your appetite.
Delicious health to you and the parasite.