Bravo Baked Linguini

September 1st, 2006

Jennifer and I recently perused Square Books on the square in Oxford, MS, home to Ole Miss, her alma mater. I noticed a cookbook called Square Table which contained a collection of recipes from Oxford restaurants. As Jennifer’s birthday was only a month away, I didn’t point it out to her and was able to surprise her with it. Several recipes were from restaurants she loved during her college days but which have since closed. We’ll certainly be revisiting this cookbook for its time-machine possibilities.

Deciding on this cookbook for dinner, we took to its pages in search of just the recipe. Jennifer had already tagged four. We decided on a baked linguine recipe that sounded divine.

We browned two pounds of ground beef (we found fresh ground chuck from our butcher’s case that was beautiful) with some freshly minced garlic, about double the requested two cloves. Once browned, one can each of crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste, a teaspoon of salt and two of sugar were stirred in and the wonderful mixture was allowed to simmer for 30 minutes.

It’s worth pointing out that this recipe does not call for any pepper. Pepper is such a ubiquitous spice (and one of our personal favorites) that it’s absence was noticed. Trusting the recipe, we followed it and were curious to see how it turned out.

We started working on the linguini while the sauce simmered. Twelve ounces of linguini boiled to al dente. With the pasta in the pot, we turned to a very special component. A brick of cream cheese, 16 ounces of sour cream, and two bundles of green onions (how could we kick off Eating Onions Together without some onions!?), chopped. These were mixed together, smelled (followed by an excited discussion), and set aside.

When the pasta was ready, we drained it and added it to a 9×13 pan. Jennifer received a beautiful Le Creuset pan recently and was excited to give it a try. It was a little less than 13″, so we used most of the pasta, filling the pan about halfway. The cream cheese, sour cream and onion mixture was spooned on top of the pasta and topped with the meat sauce.

After 20 minutes in the oven at 350, we removed the pan and added 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and eyeballed 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. Then it was back into the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese. We let it set the suggested 10 minutes before serving. Being a big Alton Brown fan, I’m familiar with his frequent saying, “your patience will be rewarded.” This is also why I’m suspicious of any meal that can be whipped together in 30 minutes. I have to say that taking photographs makes this waiting period much easier to bear.

We paired this meal with a chianti, the 2003 Classico made by Cecchi. When in doubt, a good chianti will compliment a pasta dish. To be honest, despite my love of wine, I’ve never had the olfactory skills to drink one and pick out the hints of lilac and elm bark with clear mineral tones. Mineral tones?! I have always had this suspicion that people just sit around a table (drinking way too much wine) and make these things up. However, I’m keeping an open mind and will try to hone my appreciation and super-sniffer skills. Does anyone have any recommendations for books or resources on wineology?

How was the linguini? Well, I think a rating scale based on “would we make this again?” is the best measure of a recipe. It balances taste and difficulty together.. if it’s torture to make, it’d better taste awfully good. The baked linguini is definitely a keeper. Jennifer and I discussed the similarities with lasagna while we were preparing it and while we were eating it, as well. Its components are somewhat similar to Jennifer’s lasagna recipe: pasta, meaty red sauce, and a cheesy layers. This baked linguini has one layer of each that all blended together a little during cooking and completely during the meal. The baked linguini was an involved production, but not as time-consuming as lasagna. It was definitely worth the effort.

The creamy layer was a huge hit, the first thing Jennifer commented on. It was a pleasant departure from a ricotta-based component. We didn’t miss the pepper in this dish. The seasoning in this dish were predominantly from the garlic and onions. At Alton’s recent seminar, he commented that he had minimized his spices down to about six items (although he didn’t list them). He went on to say that he was more concerned with simplifying food, echoing the sentiments of Hippocrates: first do no harm. I think this dish lives up to this wisdom.

Entry Filed under: Baked, Beef, Homemade, Main course, Pasta