Saturday, October 18, 2008

Bunco Tonight... Not Sagna for dinner

Well, school has formed a bunco group - our first get together is tonight at my house. I'm serving a favorite recipe - quick, easy and yummy too! This is a recipe I've adapted from Rachael Ray, and is an easy version of lasagna (without all the work). I use Dreamfields pasta brand, as this brand has a low glycemic index; but if you were being true to South Beach, you would use whole wheat pasta.

"Not" - Sagna
based on Rachael Ray's recipe
I've tried to make it South Beach friendly

1 # pasta (I use Dreamfields penne - or whole wheat short pasta)
Sea Salt
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 # lean ground beef
6 cloves garlic (smooshed)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. Worscesteshire
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef stock
28 oz can Organic Crushed Tomatoes
12 oz low fat ricotta
1 cup fresh basil (about 20 leaves) - cut up into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Shredded Parmesan to top

Boil water for pasta, add sea salt, add pasta and cook. You will want to save a ladle full of the pasta water for the sauce!

Heat your evoo in a large nonstick skillet. Add your meat and break it up as you brown. Add garlic, onions and red pepper flakes. Add salt, pepper, allspice & Worcestershire. You will want to cook about 5 minutes. Then, add your wine - cook a minute or two, then add your beef stock. Add the tomatoes last, bring to a the boiling point, then reduce heat to medium and simmer about 5 minutes.

Get your pasta bowl ready. Put ricotta in the bottom of the bowl. Add a ladleful of your boiling starchy water from the pasta pot. Stir to combine your ricotta and water. Add your 1/2 cup of parmigiano-reggiano cheese and mix.

Drain pasta. Toss hot pasta with the cheeses. Add half of the meat sauce to the pasta/cheese mixture. Toss. Add the torn basil. Toss. Salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, put pasta on plate, top with a spoonful of meat sauce, and top with parmesan cheese. Yum!

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