Tim Maslow's Pappardelle Bolognese with Kale
Photo credit: Evan Bradford
Yahoo Food is a proud sponsor of Indie Chefs Week, a three-night dinner series in Costa Mesa, California celebrating America’s best up-and-coming chefs. Every day, until the first dinner on October 16, we’ll feature one chef and his or her favorite recipe. Oh, and tickets are still available!
Who: Tim Maslow, executive chef/owner of Ribelle in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Tool he can’t live without: The “King Arthur bench scraper" for dividing dough and cleaning work surfaces. (It’s made in the USA; Maslow’s a fan of King Arthur flour.)
His recipe: Pappardelle Bolognese with Kale and Pork Rinds, which “has been on the menu since the opening a little over a year ago.” We simplified the recipe for home cooks, removing the pork rinds and the homemade stock, but Maslow says to keep in mind that “we don’t cut corners at our restaurants. That means working from scratch and doing it yourself!” Of Bolognese, he says it’s “one the of most basic, honest, soul-warming pasta dishes I have ever come across.”
Photo credit: Evan Bradford
Pappardelle and Bolognese and Kale
by Tim Maslow
Serves 4
At Ribelle, Maslow makes his own fresh pasta and stock, and he also garnishes the dish with pork rinds, but we’ve altered the recipe for home use.
1/2 cup plus 4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground veal
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground mortadella (“if your butcher does not have it, sweet Italian sausage will work”)
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 large red onions, diced small
1 medium carrot, diced small
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 small jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 cup canned crushed whole tomatoes, strained
2 1/2 cups dry white wine (“something you would actually drink while you’re cooking, but don’t mind lending it to the sauce”)
4 cups whole milk
8 cups chicken stock
1 small piece Parmesan rind
Bouquet garni
1 lb. pappardelle pasta
Juice of 3 lemons, 2 Tbsp. separated
1 bunch kale, torn into small pieces
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
In a large skillet on high heat, warm 2 Tbsp. olive oil. As soon as it starts to smoke, add all three ground meats. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until meat is cooked through and browned in areas.
Meanwhile, in another other large pan, warm 1/2 cup olive oil over medium heat. Add celery, onion, carrot, garlic, and chili and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for another 30 minutes.
Drain the fat from the meat. Add meat to vegetable mixture.
Add white wine and cook over high heat until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Then add Parmesan rind, bouquet garni, and just enough stock to cover the Bolognese. Simmer, uncovered, stirring every so often, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add milk to barely cover and continue cooking. Continue this process, alternating stock and milk, until both are gone or until your sauce is tender and delicious, about 2 1/2-3 hours. When it’s done, remove herbs and parmesan rind and add grated parmesan cheese, 1 Tbsp. olive oil, and all but 2 Tbsp. lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For kale, heat a skillet on high. Add kale followed by 1 Tbsp. olive oil. It will be tempting to stir or turn the kale over but don’t—you want it to cook hard on one side and blacken a bit. When it’s close to black on the bottom, about 40 seconds, add 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and season with salt. Turn kale over at the last second to finish cooking for about 20 seconds. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until almost al dente, then drain. Add to sauce.
To serve, portion your pasta on the plate, adding more sauce if you like. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and charred kale.
