This is the quintessential LaFrieda family comfort food. When butcher Pat LaFrieda was growing up, the meat in the sauce varied based on what his dad brought home from the butcher shop—one weekend, it might be spicy Italian sausage, the next, it might be spareribs. The slow-cooked beef short ribs Pat uses in the version from his book, Meat, give the dish a lovely richness.
Fantastic recipe!! I add a little salami and spicy Italian sausage to ours....Amazing!
I made this on Saturday in a crock pot. Tasted it...it needed something...so Sunday I added chopped pancetta, fresh basil, another teaspoon of dried oregano and a bit more salt and pepper. Slow cooked it again several hours. On Monday...it still needed something so I added sweet Italian sausage. That finally did the trick. So on Tuesday morning, I reheated my "Saturday-Sunday-Monday-Sauce" and used it in lasagna. (It was not cooking all that time...I put it in the frig after each day!) We had it last night and it was spectacular! I added a layer of ricotta, egg, Pecorino Romano, mozzarella, fresh ground black pepper and parsley layer too. It was delish! Next time I make it, I'm going to add some Burgundy red wine to the sauce. But I was surprised the recipe as written originally was really not all that! Good base for the additions though!
I know what I am making Sunday!
Have used this recipe for quite awhile now & it never fails. Great way to spend a Sunday. It does tend to take just a bit longer for the short ribs to get tender...closer to 5 than 4 hours.... and is fine with just 1lb of pasta. So good!!!! I alternate between this and the Spaghetti with Fresh Soppressata recipe (Andrew Carmellini) from Food & & Wine. That one is fantastic too! Here's the link to that delicious stuff:) http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spaghetti-with-fresh-soppressata
Used a pound of spicy Italian sausage and two pounds of short ribs. Added some small meatballs at the end. Served over rigatoni with some crusty garlic bread. What a great meal!