One of my favorite restaurants and my top Italian restaurant in Los Angeles is Terroni in Downtown. I've been to Italy literally about a hundred times and I could say that the food at Terroni is so authentic. It makes me feel like I am there. It's so nostalgic! One of my favorite pasta dishes there is the Black Truffle and Sausage Ragu Pasta. This Tuscan Sausage Ragu Sauce recipe is one of the many recipes I learned when I was in Italy a couple of months ago. It is pretty damn close if not exactly the same as my favorite pasta at Terroni. However, in this recipe, I used Spaghetti Squash in order to eat healthy and light. My diet food never tasted better!
Spaghetti Squash is one of my favorite squashes and a great way to eat light. The use of spaghetti squash in this recipe makes it the ideal low-carb, high protein dish. Spaghetti squash is named after its unique feature, which is, it resembles spaghetti after you cook it and scrape it with a fork. That’s why it is the perfect vegetable to substitute in place of pasta. You can serve it with meat sauce, pesto, or any of your favorite pasta sauces. One of my favorite preparations is with a Tuscan, hearty meat sauce. This dish is not only packed with protein and low-carb, it also tastes delicious. It's an even better version of meat sauce than the PASTA WITH CREAMY RAGOUT SAUCE recipe I've shared with you. This will be your new go-to meat sauce recipe!
I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing the flavor of the truffles goes with this sauce because the black truffles have a very complex, umami (an almost nutty, meaty flavor) to it. Truffles, as you know, are one of my favorite ingredients. They add so much flavor to a recipe. I have used truffles two ways in this recipe. I used Truffle Salt to season the squash and I topped the whole dish off with truffle shavings. And trust me if I wasn't trying to eat light or healthy, I would've added a tablespoon of truffle butter right into my sauce. That's how much I love truffles. So if you are like me, this is the perfect recipe for you!
Ingredients:
2 Red Onions, finely diced
1 large Carrot, finely diced
2 Celery Stalks, finely diced
2 Italian Pork Sausages, removed from their casing
2 pounds of Ground Beef
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 cup Cabernet or red wine of your choice
2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 (28 oz) can of Pureed Tomatoes or Diced Tomatoes
3 cups water
1 cube Beef Bouillon
2 Spaghetti Squashes
Truffle Shavings
Directions:
Heat oil and add vegetables and sauté well for about 10 minutes, stirring often to not burn.
Add pork sausage, mix well, breaking apart, and cook till browned a little, about 5 minutes.
Add ground beef to pot, mix well, semi cover, and cook for 10 minutes on Medium heat. Uncover halfway and stir.
Once the beef is ready, add salt and black pepper, mix well.
Add red wine, semi cover, and let cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomato paste and stir well.
Add tomato puree, water, and beef bouillon and mix well. Semi cover, bring to boil, then reduce to lowest heat and simmer for 2 1/12 hours, stirring every now and then.
In the meantime, roast the spaghetti squash. (It's best to do this within the last hour of the pasta sauce.) To cook the Spaghetti Squash, use a sharp knife, cut the squash in half widthwise. Yes, most people cut the squash lengthwise but I don't like that. In order to get long spaghetti looking pieces, cutting the squash widthwise works best.
Once you cut the squash, scoop out the seeds and discard.
Spray the inside of each half with Pam or any other cooking spray, drizzle with truffle salt and freshly ground black pepper, and make sure to cover the insides of the squash. (If you are not a fan of truffle or can't find truffle salt, regular salt is perfectly fine.)
Place the halves with the cut side down on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Roast the squash in the oven at 375 degrees F for 45 minutes.
After it's cooked, pull them out of the oven and let them cool so that they are easy to handle. Once they are cooled, scrape the edges off the skin into long strands of spaghetti.
Place Spaghetti Squash in a bowl, top with Meat Sauce, sprinkle with Truffle Shavings. (You can also add Parmesan cheese on top!) Enjoy!
*NOTE: This sauce can also be used to top off actual pasta.
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #EATDRINKPLAYLA. I'd love to see how yours turned out!