Pasta alla Montecarlo
I can't really say that this recipe for pasta in a creamy, pesto-infused, meat sauce is actually Monégasque. I didn't
find any references to it in discussions of Monégasque traditional recipes. But then again, there are painfully few recipes which are really Monégasque. The people of the principality seem to eat the types of food
you find in nearby France and Italy. This dish does carry the "Monte Carlo" name and fits within the Ligurian palate - though I personally didn't taste anything just like it when I studied in San Remo now decades ago. All in
all, it was quite good. I liked the freshness that the pesto and the basil leaves added to the dish. It felt very summerish and made up for the heaviness of the cream. I also liked the pink color of the sauce. But the flavor was
very mild, it really needed a lot of grated cheese to spike it up. While the original recipe called for penne, my supermarket sent me fusilloni instead. It worked well enough.
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Pasta alla Montecarlo
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/3 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 cups tomato passata
- salt and black pepper to taste to taste
- 12 oz penne pasta
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 3 Tbsp pesto sauce
- basil leaves, torn
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano o grana to taste.
Directions
Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, carrots and celery and saute until they start to soften. Add the ground beef and brown.Add the wine and cook until the liquid evaporates. Add the passata, season with salt and pepper, and stir until well combined. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the whipping cream, turn off the heat and let rest.
Meanwhile, put a pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente. Drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Turn heat back to low and cook until the sauce warms up. Stir in the pesto sauce.
Serve with basil leaves and grated cheese.
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Adapted from a recipe at The Pasta Project
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