Marlboro Man loves this pasta because, well, it’s mostly meat. I started making it for him years ago because he’s not crazy about meat sauce that has a heavily marinara/tomato-ey base. This does have some yummy tomatoes in the mix, but the meat is front and center, and is highlighted not with the typical mix of Italian herbs like oregano and parsley, but by the wonderfully aromatic ground thyme.
It’s simple, hearty, and major-league man friendly. Perfect for Monday dinner!
Oh! And the most important thing: Chicks like it, too!
(Accompanying Garlic Cheese Bread recipe below. This is a full-course Monday.)
Here’s what you’ll need to make the pasta.
2 pounds ground beef. Otherwise known as…HAMBURGER.
Onion.
Garlic.
2 14.5-ounce cans whole tomatoes. I realize there are three cans here. And I have no explanation for this.
Kosher salt. It’s all about Kosher salt.
Freshly ground black pepper.
Olive oil. And it ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE ORGANIC or this recipe will be ruined.
Just kidding. Any ol’ olive oil will do.
Almost gotcha, didn’t I?
Grated Parmesan cheese.
Ground thyme. From the spice aisle. It’s very aromatic and yummy. Fresh thyme will work, too.
And finally, rigatoni.
Start by dicing the onion, and yes…I’m going to show you ONCE AGAIN how to dice an onion. Please don’t be hatin’—I’m a full service food blog, and I don’t want to link back to my old “How to Chop an Onion” post because I don’t want you to have to work that hard.
Cut the onion in half from root to tip.
Lop off the end and peel off the outer papery layer.
Then make several vertical slices in the onion.
Then rotate the onion 90 degrees…
…And make several slices, which will create a dice. The closer together the slices, the smaller the dice.
Just dice half of the onion, then wrap the other half with plastic wrap and save it for something else.
Grab 2 cloves of garlic…
And smash them with a heavy can to pop open the skins.
Using a sharp knife, finely mince the garlic.
Heat a pot or skillet over medium-low heat and drizzle in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.
AND MAKE SURE IT’S ORGANIC OR YOUR LIFE WILL BE A SHAMBLES!
Throw in the onions and stir.
Cook for a couple of minutes, just long enough for the onions to become translucent.
At that point, dump in the garlic.
Stir it around and cook for another minute or so—but be careful not to burn the garlic.
Throw in the hamburger.
Stir it around to combine…
And continue cooking until the hamburger’s brown.
Now, this is totally uncharacteristic of me. But for this dish I definitely like to drain of most off the excess fat.
I think the end must be drawing near. I’d better go pack.
Leave a little fat, though, for flavor and consistency. This amount is good.
Next, sprinkle in some salt…
And plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Next comes 1 (generous) teaspoon of ground thyme. I’m sorry, but I want to TASTE the thyme; if you’re not a big fan, you can decrease this amount. Or start with 1/2 a teaspoon and work your way up from there.
Then come the tomatoes—dump in two cans.
Stir the mixture together well, reduce heat to low, and cover.
Cook for 30 minutes covered, stirring a couple of times during the process. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook, uncovered, for another 30 minutes or so.
When you have about ten minutes left, go ahead and cook the pasta.
Drizzle in a little olive oil so the pasta won’t stick…
And a little salt, just for kicks.
Mmmm. It’s lookin’ good now. See how the tomatoes naturally start to cook down and loosen up?
I like to leave the tomatoes in large chunks, but you can break them up as much as you’d like as they cook. Another option is to use DICED canned tomatoes…but I just don’t think they pack the same rustic punch as whole tomatoes.
But that’s just me.
Just before serving, I like to dump in about 1/4 cup grated Parmesan. Use more if you’re feeling dangerous.
And that’s it! Just be sure to taste the seasonings at this point—add more salt if needed, or more black pepper. Or you can add some crushed red pepper flakes if you like a little kick.
Now go drain the pasta and let’s get this show on the road.
Now, with some pasta dishes, I like to mix the pasta with the sauce in a big bowl, then serve individual portions. But in this case, I really like putting the rigatoni into the bowl first, then spooning a bunch of sauce on top.
It just screams abundance, doesn’t it?
You wanna make Marlboro Man smile? Put this in front of him at the end of a long day.
Trust me. I have experience with this.
But first! Be sure to sprinkle on more Parmesan.
Because—and let’s all say it together in our best Italian-American accents—“A pasta without a cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!”
Enjoy!
Cheese toast recipe to follow.
