bon appetit's spicy calabrese-style pork ragù

Spicy Calabrese-Style Pork Ragù - Global Dish - Stephanie Arsenault

Good things come with time. It’s one of those sayings that you might laugh in the face of {ha! Time! Who needs it?!}, or you might take seriously. For some things, the phrase couldn’t be more appropriate; with pasta sauce, for example. Obviously there are some exceptions, but for the most part, pasta sauce takes time. It needs hours for the flavours to come together, to marry, for the ingredients to bring out the best in one another {aww…}.

I don’t believe in jars of premade pasta sauce – unless, of course, they come from one of those delightful Italian markets where there’s a Mama in the back stirring up the sauce herself. I just don’t see the point in it. Next time you go to the store, look at the ingredients on the label; there are just too many random things in there. In essentially the same amount of time it takes you to open the jar, you could whirl some canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, olive oil, and red wine in a food processor and pour it in a pot. Okay, so not exactly the same amount of time, but you get it.

Stephanie in San Gimignano - Global Dish - Stephanie Arsenault

It’s not the prep time that’s important, it’s the cooking time. A jar of premade sauce is not going to change in flavour by simmering it for hours on the stovetop. Fresh, quality ingredients put together from scratch, however, will. When I saw this recipe for Rigatoni with Spicy Calabrese-Style Pork Ragù from Bon Appetit, it reminded me of lazy days in Italy; enjoying meals that went on for hours, savouring each bite of the dishes that clearly took a long time to create {see that photo? That's me. Eating. For hours.}. The recipe itself is easy to prepare; a quick whirr in the food processor gives vegetables and canned San Marzano tomatoes a delicate texture for the sauce. Using two kinds of meat provides a mild, but noticeable, contrast in flavour. My only adaptations: more chili flakes, more garlic, fusilli pasta instead of Rigatoni, and about a cup of Italian red wine {one cup for the pasta sauce, more than a cup for me}.

So when you’ve got the time, why not make use of it and try out a recipe like this one? Something good will come of it.