It’s that time again, I grabbed one of my cookbooks, and picked out a good looking recipe and got to cooking. I picked a Dunbar Pie from the cookbook Meals, Music and Muses by Alexander Smalls, a fellow New Yorker, a soulful man from Harlem. He is a chef, a visionary, a restauranteur, an entrepreneur, and a James Beard Award winning writer. If you follow his instagram, you will find pictures of celebrities dining in his home, next to deeply felt advice, yearning for a better America. Besides the fact that I love his recipes, he seems to be a pretty awesome person.
This recipe requires a few steps, takes about an hour and fifteen minutes to make, so most likely it’s a dish I would make on a Sunday, or a holiday, or hey, during quarantine, as it is still the case for me. I absolutely loved this dish, couldn’t get enough, ruined my diet, can’t wait for my leftovers tonight. It is comfort food at its finest.
What you’ll need:
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- salt and pepper
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup onions, diced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 3 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 cup unsalted chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
- 3 cups grated sharp Cheddar
Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the box, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pot or dutch oven, the the oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring andante breaking the meat into crumbles as it cooks, for about 10 minutes, until lightly brown.
Add red pepper flakes, garlic, onion, and oregano. Cook, stirring often until the onions are translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add tomato paste,belll peppers, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, stock and cream. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened about 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and the mint, then add the pasta.
Spoon half of the pasta into a 3-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese, then spoon in the remaining pasta. Top with remaining cheese. Bake until the sauce is bubbling, and the cheese is browned 35 – 40 minutes. Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.
Bon Appétit!
For more info on Meals, Music and Muses click here
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