Great Recipe very easy. I added more cheese.
- Carbohydrate 4.45692839743 g
- Cholesterol 178.89713875 mg
- Fat 59.688856378205 g
- Fiber 0.998286537784786 g
- Protein 40.38400055087 g
- Saturated Fat 23.25052254985 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (335g)
- Sodium 314.775818949877 mg
- Sugar 3.45864185964521 g
- Trans Fat 14.661719612705 g
- Calories 725 calories
Step-by-step
- Prep Cook time 25 minutes.
- Cook beef with garlic until browned. Pour off fat.
- Add broth, tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Heat to a boil
- Stir in pasta. Cook over medium heat 10 min. or until pasta is done. Stir in cheese. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.
Why is the pasta absorbing all the liquid before it softens?
Starches hydrate at a specific rate relative to the surrounding water volume. When simmering mafalda pasta directly in beef broth, the starch molecules gelatinize and bind free moisture rapidly. Keep the heat at a steady medium to maintain gentle bubbling without boiling away the broth entirely. Cooking takes roughly 10 minutes. Watch for the pasta to reach an al dente texture with a slight resistance in the center.
Adjusting for Dietary Needs
Ground beef provides a heavy fat content that requires thorough draining after browning to prevent an oily surface layer. For a lighter poultry substitution, use ground turkey thigh meat and add one tablespoon of olive oil to compensate for lower natural fat. To remove gluten entirely, swap the wheat pasta for a brown rice variety. Rice pasta requires monitoring closely as it breaks down faster than wheat pasta.
Chemical Interactions
Glutamic acid from the grated parmesan cheese combines with nucleotides in the beef broth to enhance savory perception. Acid from the canned tomatoes cuts through the heavy lipids of the melted dairy proteins. Stir the cheese in off the heat to prevent the emulsion from breaking into a grainy texture.
