Yield: 6 Servings

Adapted from Tom Hirschfeld

One pan pasta bake.  Dry pasta cooks right in the sauce in a covered pan in the oven.

• olive oil
• 1lb well-marbled chuck roast, cut into very small cubes, or ground beef
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1cup diced onion
• ½cup diced carrots
• ½cup diced celery
• 3garlic cloves, minced
• 1tsp dried rosemary
• ½tsp dried thyme
• ½tsp dried oregano
• ½tsp dried basil
• 1cup red wine
• 2cups beef stock or water
• 1cup strained tomatoes
• 1-2TBS milk or cream (optional)
• 1lb sturdy pasta, such as rigatoni, penne, farfalle
• Parmesan, grated for garnish
• fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Heat oven to 350°F.

Heat a 14-inch sauté pan (with a lid) over medium-high heat. When it is hot, add the olive oil, swirl the pan and add the beef. Season it with a healthy pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Stir and brown it on all sides.

Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and herbs, and stir.

Add the red wine and let it reduce to a tablespoon or so.

Add the tomatoes, 2 cups of water, and the dairy (if using). Stir, taste, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the pasta. Shake the pan to spread the pasta evenly across the pan, and bring it all back to a boil.

Put a lid on it, place it into the oven, and bake for 20 minutes.

Carefully remove the pan from the oven, remove the lid, stir and taste a piece of the pasta. If it is still crunchy, put the lid back onto the pan and put it back into the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove the pasta from the oven. Top with lots of Parmesan and parsley and serve.