MEZZI PACCHERI RIGATI

INGREDIENTS

FOR 4 PEOPLE

360 g Mezzi Paccheri Rigati N°152

For the meat sauce

1 celery rib
2 carrots and 2 onions
1 garlic clove
60g of butter
Extra Virgin Oil, to taste
1 cc tomato concentrate
600 g mixed minced beef and veal
1 glass red table wine
1 l tomato puree
Salt, to taste

For the béchamel

0.75 l milk
300 g butter
200 g flour
Salt, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Chop the carrots, onions, celery and garlic into small pieces and gently brown them in a pan with olive oil. When ready, add the tomato paste and the chopped mixed meat. To flavor the sauce, pour a little red wine into the pot while the meat is cooking with the vegetables and cook off the alcohol. Halfway through cooking, add the tomato sauce and herbs. In another pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook the Mezzi Paccheri for 13 minutes. Meanwhile, start preparing the béchamel sauce. To do this, melt the butter in a small saucepan over gentle heat, add the flour a little at a time and stir continuously to eliminate lumps. Next, pour in the milk slowly to make the mixture creamier. To give it more flavor, add the Parmesan cheese, grated, and nutmeg. When the pasta is cooked, mix it with the meat and tomato sauce, then place it in an oven dish, cover with the béchamel sauce, allowing it to seep into the cracks and crevices in the pasta and sauce. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, grated. Bake at 200° until bubbling, golden and crispy at the edges.

INGREDIENTS

FOR 2 PEOPLE

250 g Rummo Mezzi Paccheri Rigati N°152
4 egg yolks
200 g cured pork cheek (guanciale)
100 g pecorino
Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Cut the pork cheek into 1/2-centimeter strips. Combine the egg yolks with half of the pecorino, finally grated, and ground pepper, creating a creamy mixture. Cook the Mezzi Paccheri Rigati in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 10 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, fry the strips of pork cheek in a pan until golden brown. Remove from the grease, without throwing the melted fat away. Mix one spoonful of the pork fat into the egg yolk and pecorino mixture. Gently add a ladleful of the cooking water from the pasta to the pan with the remaining fat (being careful not to splatter the hot grease) and transfer the pasta, once cooked, into the same pan using a slotted spoon. (Don’t throw away the pasta water.) Finish cooking the pasta, by sautéing for 3 minutes. Working quickly, blend a spoonful of cooking water with the egg yolk and cheese combination. Pour the resulting mixture into the pan with the pasta. Stir until creamy. Finally, add the golden pieces of pork cheek, the rest of the pecorino cheese, grated, and some black pepper. Serve garnished with a few extra strips of crispy pork and freshly grated pepper to taste.