Steak and Fennel Ragù with Cascatelli Pasta by @LeslieKarst

 

I'm a great fan of Dan Pashman's marvelous podcast, The Sporkful ("it's not for foodies, it's for eaters"), and thus followed along with glee last year as he took us through his journey of creating his own brand new pasta shape. What Pashman was striving for was a shape with what he calls “sauceability, forkability, and toothsinkabiliy,” and the end result was "Cascatelli" ("waterfalls" in Italian). The project was a grand success, and Cascatelli--which I use in this recipe--is now my new favorite pasta shape. (Though any short and thick pasta such as penne or fusilli would also work here.) 

 

This ragù is a terrific way to use up left-over steak or pork chops, transforming them into a luscious, umami-packed sauce for pasta. And right now in late summer, it’s also great to have something to do with all those tomatoes bursting from so many of our back yard vines. 

 

Serve it with a green salad or sautèed green beans along with some crunchy Francese bread for a delightful end-of-summer dinner. 

Steak and Fennel Ragù with Cascatelli Pasta

(serves 6)

Ingredients

1 med. fennel bulb

1 lg. onion

4 med. tomatoes

3 T olive oil

8 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 large steak or pork chop, cooked or raw (½-¾ lb.)

½ cup white wine

8 oz. ricotta cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. short, thick pasta, such as Cascatelli

finely grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Cut off the stems from the fennel bulb, then slice bulb in half, and thinly slice. Chop some of the fennel greens and set aside for the garnish (you can discard the stems, or save for later use in a stock). 

 

Peel, then cut the onion in half, then cut into thin slices. 

 

Cut the meat into thin (about 1” x ½”) slices.

 

Chop the tomatoes into large pieces, then spread the fennel, onion, and tomatoes out on a large baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. 

 

Roast the vegetables until they star to soften (about 20 minutes), then sprinkle the garlic on top and continue to roast until the veg start to brown on the edges (about 15 more minutes).

 

Dump the roasted veg into a sauce pot along with the meat and add the wine. (You can use a little extra wine to deglaze the roasting pan and add this to the pot, as well.) Simmer the veg and meat over low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes so it doesn’t burn. (If using raw meat, you may want to cook it a bit longer.) 

 

Stir in the ricotta cheese and continue cooking for another five minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (The sauce can be made up to this point in advance, then reheated right before service.)

 

Cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain, reserving ½ cup of the pasta liquid.

 

While the pasta is cooking, reheat the sauce if necessary, then stir in the reserved ½ cup of the pasta water. Plate up the pasta, top it with sauce, then garnish with the grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fennel greens. 

 

Buon appetito!

 

🍃  🍅  🌱

The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst learned early, during family dinner conversations, the value of both careful analysis and the arts—ideal ingredients for a mystery story. Putting this early education to good use, she now writes the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari Mysteries, a culinary series set in Santa Cruz, California.

An ex-lawyer like her sleuth, Leslie also has degrees in English literature and the culinary arts. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai‘i.

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