Pappardelle With Meat Sauce

We love all kinds of pasta in my house.  It doesn't matter what kind of sauce is on it, pasta is always a hit.  I could eat pasta everyday and never get tired of it.  It is one of those foods you can make a lot of different ways, and comes in many shapes and sizes.  One of those shapes is pappardelle.  If you don't know what pappardelle is, it's a very wide flat pasta noodle.  I bought my pappardelle at Trader Joe's and came up with this very tasty dish with meat sauce.  Enjoy!

 A few ingredients, I used beef cubes for stew, but any beef tips will do.  All the meat gets really tender in the sauce.  Chop and saute garlic and onion, in olive oil of course.

 Fry up your tomato paste to get that raw taste out of it.  Add the crushed tomatoes.

 Here come the seasonings! And then add the meat, yes I know its raw, trust me it's ok!

 Sauce and meat all cooked up, and now time to cook the pasta.  Never mind those brownies in the back there, I know you're all looking at them!  Keep your eyes on the pasta.

 Shred the beef, top the pasta with the sauce, add some shaved Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese, cracked black pepper and Pasta Meravigliosa!  Wonderful Pasta! 

 A simple salad with this dressing from Wegman's doesn't hurt either.  This dressing is sooooo good!  Oh, and a loaf of warm Italian bread with butter, don't forget that to sop up all the sauce.

Papperdelle With Meat Sauce

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 - 6 oz can tomato paste

1 - 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp crushed red pepper, more if you like heat

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp parsley, dried or fresh is fine

2 bay leaves

2 tsp sugar

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese

1 cup of water

1 - 1 lb. package of beef cubes or sirloin tips

1 - 8 oz package of pappardelle pasta (this package made 2 servings)

Shaved Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese

Fresh cracked black pepper

Directions

In a heavy saucepan, on medium - high heat, add the olive oil and saute garlic and onion just until tender. Add in the paste, stirring into the garlic and onion, and fry for 2 minutes.  Add the crushed tomatoes and stir in.  Add the next 12 ingredients, stirring after each addition to the saucepan, ending with the beef.  Reduce heat to medium or medium low, put a lid on the pan and cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally so the sauce does not stick to the pan.  One half hour before serving:  1. Bring a large pot of water with 1 tsp of salt, to a boil and add the pappardelle, stir to separate.  Cook to your liking, we like ours al dente (to the tooth). 2. While the water is coming to a boil, remove the meat from the sauce and shred, then return to the saucepan and heat through.

Drain the pasta, pour into a serving bowl, top with the meat sauce, shaved Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese and cracked black pepper.