Pasta and Meatballs a la Geneva

½ lb. ground chuck ½ lb. hot Italian sausage

1 egg ⅓ can of Cannellini Beans

1 medium Carrot ½ stalk of Celery

½ Medium Onion a cup (or more) of Rigatoni Pasta

½ Yellow or Red Bell Pepper Fresh Mushrooms

1 jar plain Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Salt & Pepper, Italian Seasoning

1 Loaf of Italian Bread Olive Oil

Mix equal parts ground beef and hot sausage together in a mixing bowl, add an egg and mix well.  I learned the egg trick from my mother.  She would add bread crumbs and chopped onions and garlic and other magical stuff, too, but I’m too lazy.  Form several (8 or 10) medium-sized meatballs by hand and brown in a skillet.  Turn the meatballs with tongs from time to time so they are browned all around.  Continue to simmer slowly and cook all the way through.

Start a pot filled ⅔ with water and about two tablespoons of salt on low heat.  If it begins to boil, turn off the burner and cover.  This gets it ready for later when you’re ready to cook the pasta (it will then boil quickly).  I figured this out all by myself, believe it or not.

Keep an eye on the meatballs, and in a separate pot begin to heat the Ragu pasta sauce.  My uncle used to work for Ragu (little known fact) and he always vouched for the product.  Plus, my mother always used Ragu (blue label original) so I can vouch for it, too.  Go easy with warming the Ragu since it can spatter and burn if it gets too hot.  Just a slow simmer while preparing the other stuff is good.

You should have one burner open on the stove I hope.  In a skillet, heat some coconut oil hot enough (not too hot) to saute some simple veggies.  If you use olive oil just know it burns at a high temperature (this I learned from my wife Emily).

Chop the carrot into thin slices and same with a small stalk of celery.  Slice the onion and about one-half of a bell pepper into thin strips.  Rinse a handful of cannellini (great northern) beans.  Slice a few mushrooms if you like and maybe a little fresh garlic.

Throw the bell pepper strips into the skillet with hot oil.  These take the longest to cook.  After a couple of minutes add the onions and carrots and celery.  You don’t need very much of this concoction.  It is called “soffritto” in Italian.  This is added to the sauce to give it some additional flavor and substance.  Throw in the beans and brown them a little (they add a nice texture and mild flavor).  Once everything is tenderized and sauteed, in the same pan make space for the sliced mushrooms (funghi in Italian…foon-gee in my way of speaking) and add them with a little olive oil.  The mushrooms soak up the oil and can be very tasty.  Add a few pinches of Italian seasoning and some salt and pepper.

 

Continue to simmer until everything looks cooked.

Check the meatballs to make sure they don’t get too dry.  Pour yourself a glass of beer and stir the Ragu on very low heat.  Turn up the heat on the water for pasta and bring to a boil.  Toss in a cup or two of rigatoni (or any pasta preference) and cook for about nine minutes (al dente).

Combine the sofritto and meatballs and Ragu in a saucepan (maybe the one used for the sauce if it's big enough) while the pasta cooks.  Turn off the burners but cover the pan so everything stays hot.  Drain the pasta in a colander and you’re ready to serve.

Mangiamo!  

or as my mother would say, “sit down, eat, don’t fill up on bread!”

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