A big bowl of pasta not only fills the stomach but also lifts one’s spirits. At least that’s how it is for me. If you place a bowl of this One-Pot Pasta with Minced Meat, Pesto & Spinach in front of me, my mood gets better immediately – no matter how exhausting the day may have been. For me, pasta is a true comfort food ;P
I have to admit it – I love food and eating. Besides pasta, there are many other dishes I love to make that improve my mood ;) Pasta, however, has a slight advantage here because it’s usually relatively quick and easy to prepare. For this very reason, pasta often wins over other dishes ;P
This one-pot pasta should be ready in less than 30 minutes – the perfect weeknight dinner in my opinion. There is not a lot to chop or prepare, apart from the onions and garlic. Everything else just goes into the pot as it is. All you got to do is some sautéing, frying, and letting everything cook until done. It could not be easier ;)
For many pasta dishes, you prepare the sauce and pasta separately and then bring everything together on a plate or in a bowl when serving. Here you got everything in one pot combined. This saves time, and you have to clean fewer cooking utensils in the end. That’s a win-win in my book.
In contrast to a (one-pot) stew with veggies, noodles, etc., for example, where the ingredients have a lot of liquid to cook in… here is much less liquid/sauce in the pot with the pasta. It’s enough to cook the pasta, but you have to be careful towards the end of the cooking time, so the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot. You don’t want burned pasta, right? ;P
I used extra-large Bombardoni Rigati pasta here. This type of pasta is most likely to find it in markets with an (Italian) delicatessen section. Or look for it online (there is a link in the recipe). If you can’t find it just use any other type of pasta you like. Simple Rigatoni or Penne will do the job just as well ;P
Because we big fans of one-pot dishes here, you can find a few here on the blog. Two absolute favorites from this category are my One-Pot Pasta with Broccoli & Lemon Ricotta Sauce as well as quick Gnocchi Chicken Alfredo. Both are perfect for a quick after-work dinner.
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
some olive oil for frying
3.5 oz. (100g) bacon, finely diced
2 red onions, finely diced
3-4 garlic cloves, finely diced
14 oz. (400g) minced meat (beef/pork/or mixed)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
some cayenne pepper (to your liking)
1/4 cup (60ml) dry red wine
33.8 fl. oz. (1l) chicken stock, warm
10.5 oz. (300g) heavy cream (for cooking)
17.6 oz. (500g) Bombardoni Rigati* (or similar pasta)
1.8 oz. (50g) tomato pesto
3.5 oz. (100g) baby spinach, washed & drained
salt, pepper
sliced/grated Parmesan cheese to serve
(4 Portionen)
etwas Olivenöl zum Anbraten
100g Speck, gewürfelt
2 rote Zwiebeln, fein gehackt
3-4 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
400g Hackfleisch (Rind oder gemischt)
1 EL Tomatenpaste
1 TL Oregano (getrocknet)
1 TL Basilikum (getrocknet)
etwas Cayennepfeffer (nach Belieben)
60ml trockener Rotwein
1l Hühnerbrühe, warm
300g Kochsahne
500g Bombardoni Rigati* (o.ä. Pasta)
50g Tomatenpesto
100g Babyspinat, gewaschen & abgetropft
Salz, Pfeffer
gehobelter/geriebener Parmesan zum Servieren
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Peel and finely dice the onions and garlic. Wash and drain the spinach. Set everything aside
2. Heat up a large pot (Dutch oven) with some olive oil. Add the diced bacon and cook to release some fat. Next, add the chopped onions and sauté until soft and glossy, then add the garlic and sauté briefly. Add the minced meat to the pot, mix with everything and cook until nicely browned.
3. When the meat got some color, add the tomato paste, oregano, basil, and some cayenne pepper and roast briefly to develop some flavors. Deglaze with the red wine. Allow the wine to cook and reduce almost completely, then add the chicken stock and heavy cream. Stir well and bring everything to a boil. Add the pasta and make sure it is covered with the sauce. Reduce the heat slightly, cover the pot and let the pasta simmer for about 11-13 minutes (check the cooking time on the pasta package). Stir from time to time so that the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot – this is especially important towards the end of the cooking time when the sauce has mostly boiled down.
4. As soon as the pasta is »al dente«, add the tomato pesto and spinach and mix to combine. The spinach should collapse quite quickly. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add to bowls and serve with some grated Parmesan cheese.
Note: You can also add some grated cheese to the sauce (together with the pesto), if you like. You should never skimp on cheese, right? ;P
1. Den Speck in kleine Würfel schneiden. Die Zwiebeln und den Knoblauch schälen und fein würfeln. Den Spinat auslesen, waschen und abtropfen lassen.
2. Einen großen Topf mit ein wenig Olivenöl erhitzen. Den gewürfelten Speck dazugeben und auslassen. Als Nächstes die gehackten Zwiebeln dazugeben und einige Zeit anschwitzen lasen, dann den Knoblauch dazugeben und ebenfalls kurz anschwitzen. Das Hackfleisch zum Topf dazugeben und krümelig anbraten – das Fleisch sollte ordentlich Farbe bekommen.
3. Wenn das Fleisch schön gebräunt ist, Tomatenpaste, Oregano, Basilikum und etwas Cayennepfeffer dazugeben und kurz anrösten. Mit dem Rotwein ablöschen. Den Wein fast komplett einkochen lassen, dann die Hühnerbrühe und Kochsahne dazugeben. Alles gut verrühren und einmal aufkochen lassen, dann die Pasta dazugeben und unterrühren. Die Hitzezufuhr etwas reduzieren und die Pasta abgedeckt etwa 11-13 Minuten köcheln lassen (auf die Kochzeit der Nudeln auf der Packung achten). Immer wieder mal durchrühren, damit die Nudeln nicht am Boden des Topfes kleben bleiben – dies gilt besonders gegen Ende der Kochzeit, wenn die Soße im Topf weitestgehend eingekocht ist.
4. Wenn die Nudeln »al dente« sind, das Tomatenpesto und den abgetropften Spinat zum Topf dazugeben und unterrühren – der Spinat sollte hier recht schnell zusammenfallen. Nach Bedarf noch mit Salz und Pfeffer würzen, dann auf Schüsseln verteilen und mit etwas gehobeltem Parmesan servieren.
Tipp: Wer mag, kann auch in die Soße noch etwas geriebenen Parmesan geben (zusammen mit dem Pesto). Mit Käse sollte man ja nie sparen ;P
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One-Pot Pasta with Meat, Pesto & Spinach
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:13
- Total Time: 00:25
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: Italy
Description
A simple and easy-to-prepare pasta dish – perfect for a weeknight dinner: One-Pot Bombardoni (Pasta) with Meat, Pesto & Spinach.
Ingredients
some olive oil for frying
3.5 oz. (100g) bacon, finely diced
2 red onions, finely diced
3–4 garlic cloves, finely diced
14 oz. (400g) minced meat (beef/pork/or mixed)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
some cayenne pepper (to your liking)
1/4 cup (60ml) dry red wine
33.8 fl. oz. (1l) chicken stock, warm
10.5 oz. (300g) heavy cream (for cooking)
17.6 oz. (500g) Bombardoni Rigati* (or similar pasta)
1.8 oz. (50g) tomato pesto
3.5 oz. (100g) baby spinach, washed & drained
salt, pepper
sliced/grated Parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
1. Cut the bacon into small cubes. Peel and finely dice the onions and garlic. Wash and drain the spinach. Set everything aside
2. Heat up a large pot (Dutch oven) with some olive oil. Add the diced bacon and cook to release some fat. Next, add the chopped onions and sauté until soft and glossy, then add the garlic and sauté briefly. Add the minced meat to the pot, mix with everything and cook until nicely browned.
3. When the meat got some color, add the tomato paste, oregano, basil, and some cayenne pepper and roast briefly to develop some flavors. Deglaze with the red wine. Allow the wine to cook and reduce almost completely, then add the chicken stock and heavy cream. Stir well and bring everything to a boil. Add the pasta and make sure it is covered with the sauce. Reduce the heat slightly, cover the pot and let the pasta simmer for about 11-13 minutes (check the cooking time on the pasta package). Stir from time to time so that the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot – this is especially important towards the end of the cooking time when the sauce has mostly boiled down.
4. As soon as the pasta is »al dente«, add the tomato pesto and spinach and mix to combine. The spinach should collapse quite quickly. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add to bowls and serve with some grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
You can also add some grated cheese to the sauce (together with the pesto), if you like. You should never skimp on cheese, right? ;P
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
