Farfalle with Veal, Porcini, and Spinach

By PineyCook

Ingredients

• 1 oz dried porcini mushroom
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp red chile flakes
• 1/2 lb ground veal
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 lb farfalle
• 4 oz baby spinach
• pecorino romano
• salt and pepper

Details

Adapted from herbielikesspaghetti.com

Preparation

Step 1

Start by rehydrating the porcini mushroom. Place them in a bowl and fill with 1 cup or so of warm water. Let them rest in there for about 10 minutes. When they're nice and big, drain them and reserve the liquid - you'll need it for later. Run the liquid through a sieve to get out any dirt. Chop the porcini coarsely.

Heat up the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 2 - 3 minutes. Once done, add in the veal and the porcini and cook until the veal has browned, which should be about 8 - 10 minutes over high heat.

When the veal is ready and the porcini are nice and soft, add in the tomato paste and stir everything together so that the paste is completely incorporated. Let the tomato paste toast a bit on the pan's hot surface, for about 5 minutes, until it has developed a deep, dark looking color.

When the tomato paste is where you want it to be, add in the white wine, and about 1/3 of a cup of the porcini soaking liquid. Stir to incorporate. You should have a nice sauce forming at this point. Once the wine has nearly evaporated, add in the tomato sauce and stir to incorporate. Return the heat to low and simmer.

While your veal and porcini mixture is simmering, cook your pasta. Bring the water to a boil and add in a bit of salt. Cook the farfalle until 1 minute shy of the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving a touch of water just in case.

At this point, toss the spinach into the veal and porcini mixture, bringing the heat back up a bit. Stir it around until the spinach has started to wilt. Then, add the drained farfalle to the mixture as well, and a touch of pasta water if necessary, and toss everything together over high heat until the farfalle and veal and porcini sauce are completely incorporated.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with grated pecorino romano to finish. Enjoy!