Once in a while I cooked pasta dish, I have to choose the bigger pasta because hubby is not so into angel hair, spaghetti or orzo (orzo salad is good). So I go for Penne pasta with beef ragu, actually I saw this on foodnetwork channel but it's lamb ragu and we are not eating lamb lol. So I made beef ragu instead and without cheese because my other half is not so into cheese and our weekend visitor (his son) is not into cheese too, that means I'm the only person who loves cheese in this house and eats a lot of grilled cheese sandwich yum. Hubby said it's good and he loves it.


Beef Ragu Penne Pasta
Ingredients
1 lb rigatoni or Penne pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots or onion chopped
1-1/2 lbs ground beef or lamb
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 cup red wine or cooking wine
4 cups marinara sauce
1/2 cup mint leaves chopped
2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup ricotta cheese or Parmesan

Meanwhile in a large skillet warm the olive oil. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender. Add the ground beef/lamb, salt and pepper, cook until the meat is browned and the juices have evaporated. Add the wine scrapping up the button of the pan using a wooden spoon. Simmer until the wine is reduced by half. Add the marinara sauce and 2 tsp of brown sugar, simmer over low heat until the flavor is blended about 10 minutes. Add the mint and cheese, serve hot.