What is Barolo Linguine and where does it come from?
Barolo is a small village in the Piedmont region in northern Italy, it is about a one hour south easterly drive from Turin. Barolo has become very famous for its wines, particularly a red wine which is aptly named Barolo. I first came across this area of Italy when I was just 19 years old and starting out on my first business, a range of chocolates which were to be manufactured in the city of Turin by a company called Boella and Sorrisi. At the time I was not a huge wine drinker but over the years I have come to appreciate so much about wine and the Barolo is a beautiful wine indeed.
The opportunity to sell some linguine pasta which is infused with this Barolo wine was not something I could miss out on. The linguine is a very beautiful dark red wine colour, it will maintain the majority of this colour providing it is not overcooked. My favourite thing to combine with the Linguine is some of our 100% grass fed beef mince and make a delicious bolognaise, this is a basic dish which can be created in less than 20 minutes.
Recipe for Grass Fed Beef Bolognese with Barolo Linguine:
Ingredients
Ruxstons Barolo Linguine (150g)
Defrosted Beef Mince (500g)
Chopped Swede
Finely Chopped Carrots
Chopped Tomatoes
Tomato Puree
Two Cloves of Garlic
Tomato Puree
Olive Oil
Seasonings
Oregano
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
Method
Step 1)
Add the finely chopped swede, chopped garlic, carrots and chopped tomatoes into a frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Add the seasoning also at this point.
Step 2)
When the carrots are beginning to soften add in the beef mince, do not wait to look because you do not want the vegetables to end up overcooked. A little tomato puree and chopped tomatoes should now also be added.
Ensure that you are using a beef mince with plenty of fat in it, ideally, about 20%, as this fat will add in a huge amount of flavour to the dish and this is where the nutrients will come from.
Step 3)
In a separate pan bring some water to the boil and then drop in the Barolo infused Linguine. This will take no more than 4 minutes and should not be left too long as you will lose the colour from the pasta. Remember the pasta will continue to cook even after it has been removed from the pan so it cannot be stressed enough to not overcook it.
Step 4)
Once the beef is thoroughly cooked with no pink remaining in the mince and piping hot, remove from the heat, add to the pasta and mix well.
Step 5)
Add a cheese of your choice to sprinkle along the top. If you desire fresh herbs can also be added at this point.
Why does fat help beef mince cook?
Fat is what creates the flavour in beef, but it also stops it from drying out the meat. Lean cuts such as the fillet steak may be tender, but they lack the flavour a fatty ribeye or rump steak would have and for this reason, it is important to have plenty of fat on the beef mince.
Grass-fed beef mince fat should have a slight yellow tinge also. The yellow fat is the presence of beta carotene which is caused by eating a grass-only diet, grain-fed beef will typically have whiter fat. Seasonality and age will also change the colour of the fat, an older animal butchered in the summer or early Autumn will have the deepest yellow fat of all.
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