To celebrate our 20% off All Wine Sale, we created this recipe in the Buyer’s Kitchen for Pasta with a hearty Malbec Meat Sauce!  Wine adds flavor and depth to the sauce, and the alcohol cooks out as it simmers on the stove.  We topped with Mozzarella cheese, but you could easy swap in Parmesan or any other kind of Italian cheese as per preference.  Fresh herbs would also add a little something extra.  Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided – Star Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1 liter – Our price: $8.99, Elsewhere: $19.99
  • 1.5 lbs. ground beef (or lean ground turkey) – Harris Ranch Lean Ground Beef, 3 lb – Our price: $6.99, Elsewhere: $13.99
  • 1 pinch black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1 big pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced – Organic Yellow Onion, 3 lb – Our Price: $1.99, Elsewhere: $3.99
  • 8 cloves of garlic – Garlic, 6 oz. bag peeled – Our price: $2.99, Elsewhere: 3.49
  • 1 cup red wine – Red Rock Malbec, 750 ml, Our normal price: $3.99, during the 20% off Wine Sale (until 11/8!): $3.19!
  • 2 14.5-oz. cans of diced tomatoes – Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes, 14.5 oz – Our price: $0.99, Elsewhere: $1.99
  • 1 6-oz. can of tomato paste – California Healthy Tomato Paste, 6 oz. – Our price: $0.39, Elsewhere: $0.79
  • 1 can of extra large pitted ripe olives, sliced – Enticing Extra Large Pitted Ripe Olives, 6 oz. – Our price: $0.79, Elsewhere: $2.79
  • 1 lbs. baby spinach – Earthbound Farm Organic Baby Spinach, 1 lb – Our price: $3.99, Elsewhere: $5.99
  • 1 box of Capellini (or preferred pasta) – Don Peppe Capellini Pasta, l lb – Our price: $0.99, Elsewhere: $1.99
  • Mozzarella cheese (per taste) – Wisconsin Premium Mozzarella Shredded Cheese, 2 lb – Our price: $5.99, Elsewhere: $9.99
  • 1 jar of Marinara sauce (Optional) – Prego Classic Pasta Sauce, 18.5 oz – Our price: $0.99, Elsewhere: $1.49

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Start a pot of water boiling, add a teaspoon of salt.

 

Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a deep pot, then drop in 1.5 lbs of ground beef (or lean ground turkey).  Mix in half of the black pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic salt.  Cook until brown.  Remove meat from the pot and drain the oil.

 

In same pot, toss in one large diced yellow onion and 8 cloves of minced garlic with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.  Let the onions and garlic sweat in the hot pot for about 2 minutes, then add in the rest of the of black pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes and garlic salt and cook on medium heat for about another 2 minutes.

 

When your water boils, drop in your pasta noodles.  We used Capellini, but Spaghetti, Angel Hair or Linguine would also work well.  Cook until al dente (instructions on package for cook time), then drain the noodles in a colander, and set aside.

 

Once all the onions are translucent, pour in the cup of red wine, and add the cooked ground beef.  You will want to bring the wine to a simmer and reduce for about 1 ½ minutes.

 

Add two 14.5-oz cans of diced tomatoes, 6-oz can of tomato paste, and 1 can of extra-large pitted ripe olives that have been sliced.  If you prefer your pasta sauce on the saucier side, or to make this recipe stretch a bit further, you can add in a jar of your favorite marinara sauce.  Let the pasta sauce simmer on low heat to allow the flavors to develop for about 10 minutes or so.

 

Add in 1 lb. of baby spinach into the pasta sauce and stir it in until wilted which should take about a minute.  Combine pasta sauce with noodles, top with Mozzarella cheese and enjoy!