Pasta Zarifa

Pasta Zarifa

[printable recipe]

I like Marcella Hazan’s cookbooks because she has very clear ideas about how Italian food should be made. Her meticulousness gives me the self confidence to try her recipes because it is almost as if she was standing beside me sharing her years of culinary experience. If she saw how I made Spaghetti Bolognese sauce, however, she might not recognize it, in fact, perhaps it shouldn’t be called Bolognese at all.

So I named it “Pasta Zarifa”, after my grandmother who was born and raised in Kurdish Iraq and still grows a little spice garden outside her modest apartment.  In classic Bolognese sauce, according to Hazan, milk balances the acidity of the white wine and tomatoes. There are also many versions in which prosciutto or pancetta provide depth of flavor.  Having grown accustomed to Middle Eastern flavors I omitted both these ingredients and instead added mushrooms and fresh herbs such as za’atar, basil, oregano, parsley and thyme, all of which grow in tubs and pots in my grandmother’s minute yard. I prefer the sour high notes and fresh aromatic herbs to Hazan’s authentic Italian version which somehow seems muted to me.  In the Middle East souring agents have been used from antiquity and are an indispensible element in their cuisine. Plums, soumak, unripe grapes (verjuice), lemons, pomegranates, vinegar and tomatoes (which were introduced only much later in the 15^th century) have all been used for their acidic qualities which appeal to Middle Eastern taste.

But last time I went to visit my grandmother she presented me not with the traditional Kubba Hamoustah soup (Sour dumpling soup) but with pasta with tomato sauce.

“Bishnu taught me” She told me.

“Bishnu? Saba’s caregiver from Nepal?”

Indeed Bishnu from Nepal taught my Kurdish grandmother some Italian cooking tricks (I am not sure who taught him). So it appears even my grandmother in her advanced age and with thousands of years of Middle Eastern history behind her can still incorporate new flavors in her life.

Pasta Zarifa

This recipe was inspired by Marcella Hazan’s Bolognese sauce.  This recipe uses mirepoix, the combination of finely diced carrots, celery and onions. The ratio of carrots and celery should be about 1:1. I use more vegetable than Hazan’s original recipe.

2-3 carrots, finely diced (brunoise), about 1 cup

1 celeriac root or 2-3 celery sticks, finely diced (brunoise), about 1 cup

1 large onion, finely diced (brunoise), about 3/4 cup

2 cloves garlic, minced

5-6 button mushrooms, chopped

4-5 tomatoes, liquefied in food processor (or for a less rustic sauce use tomato concasse-peeled and deseeded tomatoes)

3-4 tablespoons tomato paste (about 100-150 grams), I add less if the tomatoes I am using are very red and ripe

600 grams ground meat, preferably the neck portion of the chuck

1 cup dry white wine, I used Golan Chardonnay

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

1 1/2 cups mix of fresh chopped herbs such as za’atar, thyme, parsley, oregano and basil

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of nutmeg

2 bay leaves (I used what I picked at the Sataf)

1/2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper

Olive oil

Serve with pasta of your choice or polenta

Fry onion in olive oil on medium heat until just beginning to change color, add garlic and continue cooking for about 1 minute on low, mixing to avoid burning garlic. Add the carrots and celeriac or celery and cook on medium for about 10 minutes, add the mushrooms and mix well and continue cooking until mushrooms lose their volume (another 10 minutes). Remove to a bowl. Add a bit more olive oil and fry the tomato paste to release its flavor (pincer), add the ground meat and salt and mix well. Continue cooking until meat has changed color and is beginning to brown. Add the cooked vegetables, liquefied tomatoes, white wine, bay leaves and chicken stock or water. Cook on low for about 3 hours until the sauce thickens and the fat separates on top. Add more liquid if necessary. Add nutmeg and adjust seasoning. Right before serving add chopped herbs. Goes well grated goat cheese on top or if you observe kashrut shredded boiled eggs. I also often add a few capers to my dish.

Serve with Marcella Hazan’s garlic infused tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.